Home Office’s Ukraine Family Scheme extended to include aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws

Kevin Foster MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, told the House of Commons today that the Home Office is expanding its new family visa scheme for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Image credit: WikipediaAnswering an urgent question, Foster said the scheme would be extended to include aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws.

The Home Office last week extended the scheme to extended family members, which included parents and children of all ages, grandparents, and siblings.

Kevin Foster told the Commons today: "This Government have brought forward a generous humanitarian offer to those Ukrainians who want to come to the UK to escape the conflict. Last week, the Home Secretary announced a new Ukraine family scheme for those with family ties to the UK, and we are extending the scheme further to include aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws."

The Home Office guidance page on applying for a Ukraine Family Scheme visa has since been updated and the extension was implemented this afternoon.

The Home Office said today that the Ukraine Family Scheme has received over 10,000 applications since it was launched on Friday and over 500 visas have been issued.

There has been widespread criticism of the UK's response in the face of Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 2 million people have now fled the war in Ukraine.

News media have reported on confusion and frustration as refugees attempting to obtain a visa to come to the UK face bureaucratic obstacles and weeks-long delays for needed appointments.

For example, BBC News reported today that French authorities in Calais said almost 300 Ukrainian refugees have been turned back by the UK Border Force, while hundreds were stuck in the French port trying to complete paperwork for visas. The Telegraph reported today that dozens of people, including elderly women and young children, faced chaos and queues at a UK visa office in Poland.

Labour's Yvette Cooper said today that the Home Office's response was chaotic. The shadow Home Secretary added on Twitter this afternoon: "Ukrainians who have fled Russian bombardment are still being turned away by UK. People are being sent hundreds of miles to visa centres which aren't open or have no appointments till next week. This is shambolic & shameful. UK must act urgently to help people fleeing Ukraine."

Kevin Foster told the House of Commons today that steps were being taken to improve matters.

Foster said: "I would like to update the House on the measures that we are taking to speed up and process the applications and to ensure that we can help applicants as quickly as possible. We have surged staff to key visa application centres across Europe, particularly in Poland, and moved more biometric kit to support them. We have ensured that casework teams are standing by in the UK to process applications to ensure that there are no delays.

"We will also establish a larger presence in northern France to help Ukrainians in the region. It is essential that we do not create a choke point at places like Calais, where dangerous people smugglers are present, and ensure the smooth flow of people through the system from across Europe. Alongside that, we are working with our embassies around the world to ensure that we use our diplomatic channels to support our efforts and to provide the latest information."

Foster added: "I appreciate that there are concerns. We are training new caseworkers, who, as of tomorrow, will take more decisions. We are looking to review what we can and to use some of the technology that we have—for example, around what we deployed for the British nationals overseas route and how that could be brought into effect. We are also reviewing some of the requirements on biometrics for under-18s to free up visa appointments in visa application centres."