London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 26, 2025

Ukraine conflict: UK relaxes visa rules for refugees

Ukraine conflict: UK relaxes visa rules for refugees

Boris Johnson has said the UK could take in 200,000 or more Ukrainian refugees as the government extends its help to more people fleeing the war.

The scheme allowing close relatives of Ukrainian people settled in the UK to come over will be widened to include adult parents, grandparents, children over 18 and siblings.

UK firms will also be able to sponsor a Ukrainian entering the country.

The changes follow criticism that the UK is doing less than EU countries.

About seven million people are thought to have been displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the United Nations reports that more than 500,000 people have fled the country.

EU members have agreed to let in Ukrainian refugees for up to three years without first having to seek asylum, with more than 280,000 people having entered Poland so far.

In a statement to Parliament, Home Secretary Priti Patel said the UK government had announced a "generous" and "unprecedented" package of measures to help Ukrainians and their family members enter the UK.

She told MPs both the family scheme and the sponsorship pathway would allow Ukrainians to live in the UK for an initial 12 months and would be able to work and access public services.

British nationals and Ukrainian people settled in the UK will be able to bring extended family members to the UK. For example, a sibling of a settled person will be able to come to the UK with their spouse and child.

But, responding to calls to waive all visas for Ukrainians, Ms Patel said Russian troops were "seeking to infiltrate" Ukrainian forces and there were "extremists on the ground" in Ukraine.

Given this and Russian President Vladimir Putin's "willingness to do violence on British soil", Ms Patel said, "we cannot suspend any security or biometric checks on people we welcome to our country".

'Considerable numbers eligible'


Ms Patel announced immigration changes in Parliament on Monday, but Labour said the visa rules were confusing for Ukrainians and asked for clarification.

Speaking on a visit to Poland on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said the rules would be altered again.

"We are extending the family scheme so that very considerable numbers would be eligible. You could be talking about a couple of hundred thousand, maybe more," he said.

"Additionally, we are going to have a humanitarian scheme and then a scheme by which UK companies and citizens can sponsor individual Ukrainians to come to the UK."

Mr Johnson also said the UK would provide £220m in emergency and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced changes to immigration rules to help Ukrainians in recent days


Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said she was "concerned about the way Home Office has handled this" but welcomed the latest changes.

She asked Ms Patel if the government would commit to help more Ukrainians and ensure "obstacles do not get in the way".

"Does the sponsoring family member have to be British or have indefinite leave to remain? What about Ukrainians here on work visas, on study visas, who have come maybe as lorry drivers or on visitor visas?

"Surely she is not expecting to turn their families away? When people are fleeing Russian authoritarianism or war I assume she will not be applying a test based on which bureaucratic box UK residents tick."

'Tired but delighted'


On Monday, Ms Cooper raised the case of a Ukrainian woman, who was denied entry to the UK in Paris and told to apply for a standard visitor visa.

Fearing an imminent Russian invasion, Valentyna Klymova left her hometown of Kharkiv on 24 February and travelled to France, where she met her daughter.

Over the weekend, her daughter Dr Nataliya Rumyantseva, a Ukrainian citizen with permanent residency in the UK, told the BBC the visa application had been a "confusing" process.

But in Parliament on Tuesday, Ms Patel confirmed the woman's visa had been approved in Paris and she was now able to join her daughter in the UK.

"She is very tired but at the time same delighted we got the visa and that she can go with me," Dr Rumyantseva told the BBC.

Valentyna Klymova's visa to enter the UK was approved in Paris on Tuesday


Ukrainian mother Tanya Baranovska is hoping to enter the UK as well.

She left her home town of Ternopil by car last Thursday with her eight-year-old son Adam and her daughter Anastasiia Lysa, who is 23-years-old.

They wanted to go to stay with Tanya's sister, Nataliya Turner, who lives in Bognor Regis in southern England.

But they told BBC foreign correspondent Bethany Bell they were refused entry to the UK by British officials at Calais in France on Monday. They were told they couldn't enter the UK as Ms Turner is not a British citizen.

On Tuesday, they said, they went to the British consulate in Brussels and have filled in visa applications. They said they are staying at a cheap hotel on the edge Brussels and don't have much money.

Tanya Baranovska is hoping to enter the UK with her two children

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
×