Ukraine visa schemes rationalised and extended; care workers unable to bring dependants from 11 March 2024
A new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules has been published today, which makes significant changes to the Ukraine humanitarian visa schemes and the Skilled Worker route for care workers.
The fairly brief 13-page statement of changes, HC 556, can be downloaded here. An accompanying explanatory memorandum summarises the changes.
As widely reported by the media yesterday, visas already issued under the Ukraine schemes will be extended by 18 months. A new Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPE) route will enable Ukrainians to apply for a further 18 months' permission to stay in the UK on expiry of their current visa.
In addition, the Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS) will be closed from 3pm today and the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (HFU) will be amended. Several grounds for refusal under the Immigration Rules that had previously been omitted for Ukrainians will also now be applied. There are further changes to the Ukraine schemes that will come into effect on 11 March 2024.
The Government says it has decided to close the UFS to new applications with immediate effect in order to rationalise the offer for Ukrainians coming to the UK and improve the sustainability of the Ukraine schemes. The HFU will now be the single out-of-country route for all Ukrainians to apply to when seeking to come to the UK. New visas issued under the route will be reduced from the current 3 years of leave to only 18 months.
The explanatory memorandum states: "Almost two years into the conflict, the situation in Ukraine and the responses to it have evolved, therefore we are also changing the period of permission granted to new HFU applicants, including eligible minors, from 36 months to 18 months. This will still provide assurance of a period of sanctuary in the UK and is more closely aligned with the period granted in the EU under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, which is one year at a time."
Jennifer Blair of No5 Chambers commented on X that the changes to the Ukraine schemes were "massive and unexpected". She said the immediate closure of the Ukraine Family Scheme was "outrageous" and an example of how migrants are treated disrespectfully in a way British nationals would not be. "There'll be people waiting for key documents to apply (passports, evidence of residence or relationship) who will log in to submit and find it closed," Blair added.
The Work Rights Centre, which is a charity that supports migrants in the UK, said the closure of the UFS will come as a cruel shock to people in the middle of making an application to join a family member in the UK.
In a thread on X, the Work Rights Centre noted: "The changes will have huge consequences for Ukrainians seeking safety in Britain. Effective immediately, only those with British or Irish citizenship, settled status or [indefinite leave to remain] can sponsor a Ukrainian person under Homes for Ukraine. This excludes Ukrainians themselves. We were preparing to submit a Homes for Ukraine application for a Ukrainian mother to sponsor her daughter to flee Ukraine and join her in the UK. We will have to tell her the scheme has closed, and her daughter will need to find a new route to safety."
The Huffington Post quoted an unnamed source close to the Home Secretary as saying the UK will continue to support Ukrainians and nobody is being prevented from applying to come to the UK from Ukraine because the Homes for Ukraine route still exists. The source said criticisms of the changes by opposition politicians were "cynical scaremongering".
The changes for care worker visas in today's statement of changes were announced in December as part of the five-point plan to cut net migration. Care workers will be prevented from bringing their dependants to the UK, and care providers in England who wish to sponsor migrant workers will need to be registered by the Care Quality Commission.
The care worker changes take effect on 11 March 2024.
Tom Pursglove, the minister for legal migration, provided the following details in a written statement to the House of Commons today:
Statement
My rt hon Friend the Home Secretary is today laying before the House a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules.
Changes to the Ukraine schemes
Almost two years on from the start of the conflict, we continue to stand firm with the people of Ukraine and show that those who need our help are still warmly welcomed in the UK. We have extended that welcome to nearly 230,000 people who have come to the UK (or had their existing permission in the UK extended) under the Ukraine schemes. The British people have shown incredible generosity and solidarity with the Ukrainian people, opening their homes up to those seeking sanctuary.
Today, we are making changes to the Ukraine schemes to ensure they remain sustainable and meet the needs of those seeking temporary sanctuary in the UK.
We have today announced the intention to create a new Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPE) which will provide a new route for Ukrainians to apply for a further 18 months' permission to stay in the UK on expiry of their current visa. We are also today reducing the length of new visas issued under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme (HFU) from 36 months to 18 months. The change to the HFU permission period is made to align with the period which will be offered to those who choose to extend their permission under the UPE. This will mean that those initially granted a visa for 36 months under the Ukraine schemes will be able to stay in the UK for a total of up to 54 months.
To ensure that visa holders have appropriate accommodation as well as the necessary in-country support to help them assimilate and thrive independently in the UK, we are also changing the sponsor eligibility under the HFU through updates to HMG guidance. Sponsors for new visas will need to be British or Irish citizens or settled in the UK (which means they have the right to live permanently in the UK). Previously, a sponsor only needed to hold at least six months' permission to stay in the UK from the date of the visa application.
The changes to the rules and HMG guidance being made today will also apply to the eligible minor's route for unaccompanied children, which is part of the HFU sponsorship scheme.
We are rationalising the offer for Ukrainians coming to the UK to provide one single out-of-country route (HFU) for all Ukrainians to apply to when seeking to come to the UK. Under HFU, there are accommodation checks, a minimum accommodation commitment from the sponsor and safeguarding checks, none of which feature in the Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS). The UFS was created as an immediate response to the Russian invasion and allowed UK based British citizens and settled persons to act as sponsors for their Ukrainian family members. We are, therefore, closing the Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS) to new applications from today. This will strengthen and improve the sustainability of the schemes we provide.
Ukrainian nationals who may have previously been eligible to apply to come to the UK under the UFS will remain eligible to apply to the HFU sponsorship scheme.
To ensure Ukrainian parents who have permission to stay in the UK under the Ukraine schemes can regularise the immigration status of their UK born children, we are also amending the rules for the Ukraine Extension Scheme (UES) to ensure it remains open beyond the current closure date of 16 May 2024 for those children.
In order to ensure the integrity of the Ukraine schemes, we are reinstating a number of the General Grounds for Refusal provisions, which were temporarily disapplied from the Appendix Ukraine scheme.
Changes relating to care workers and senior care workers in the Skilled Worker route
On 4 December 2023, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary announced a plan to curb immigration abuse and cut net migration. This plan, alongside the package we have already introduced to restrict student dependants, is expected to mean around 300,000 people who would have been eligible to come to the UK under last year's rules, would not be able to.
These changes include some of the measures announced in that package, namely preventing overseas care workers and senior care workers from bringing their dependants to the UK and requiring care providers in England who wish to sponsor migrant workers to be registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
These measures will ensure we continue to protect our NHS and social care systems, while addressing significant concerns that have emerged since the introduction of the visa about high levels of non-compliance and worker exploitation and abuse within the adult social care sector, particularly for overseas workers employed within care occupations.
Care workers and senior care workers who are already in the route will be able to extend their permission with the same sponsor, and settle, without the CQC regulation requirement applying to them. They will also be able to bring dependants, including in cases where they change jobs to another sponsor who meets the CQC regulation requirement.
The changes to the Immigration Rules are being laid on 19 February 2024. The changes to close the Ukraine Family Scheme and provide one single out-of-country route for Ukrainians to come to the UK under HFU will come into effect on 19 February 2024. All other changes will come into effect on 11 March 2024.