Britain on Thursday announced changes to its Ukraine immigration plan that will allow Ukrainian refugees with a passport to enter the UK after growing criticism that the government was neglecting Ukrainians fleeing the Russian war. 

Announced by Home Secretary Priti Patel in the House of Commons, the changes will enable Ukrainian refugees to apply online to enter the UK rather than visit consular services that provide limited support.

“From Tuesday, I can announce that Ukrainians with passports will no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK. Instead, once their application has been considered and the appropriate checks completed, they will receive direct notification that they are eligible for the scheme and can come to the UK,” Patel said.

“In short, Ukrainians with passports will be able to get permission to come here, fully online, from wherever they are; and will be able to give their biometrics once in Britain. This will mean that Visa Application Centres across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without passports. We have increased the capacity at those centres to over 13,000 appointments per week,” she added.

Prior to the last minute changes, Ukrainian refugees traveled to the French port city of Calais in the hopes of gaining access to the UK only to discover they could not apply for UK visas and were forced to look elsewhere. Furthermore, UK consulates in Europe provided limited services to Ukrainians and offered limited number of appointments.

Patel’s decision to relax entry requirements for Ukrainian refugees was made in response to an urgent question by Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper who asked why such changes were being made now when the government had intelligence of a Russian aggression months prior and failing to prepare for its humanitarian consequences.

“I have to say to the home secretary, why does it always take being hauled into the House of Commons to make basic changes to help vulnerable people who are fleeing from Ukraine?” Cooper said.

“It is deeply wrong to leave people in this terrible state. Our country is better than this. If she can’t get this sorted out, frankly she should hand the job over to somebody else who can,” she added.

The ensuing delays and the Home Office’s lacklustre response in accepting Ukrainian refugees produced a backlash and outcry with many in the country accusing the government of neglect and lacking humanity. Earlier this week, it was revealed the Home Office had issued a mere 50 visas to Ukrainians despite thousands applying to enter the country.

- Non-Ukrainian refugees still face difficulty seeking asylum

The recent changes to the government’s immigration policy, however, is only applicable to Ukrainian refugees and not other groups of people seeking asylum in the UK. As such, many of these refugees, majority of whom are from Africa and Asia, are still denied entry into the UK and rely on dangerous routes across the English Channel in attempts to seek residence Britain.

The government in 2021 introduced strict and stringent immigration laws that made it increasingly difficult for refugees to enter the UK. The new policies included deploying the Royal Navy to police the English Channel and enabling Border Force staff to forcefully turn migrant boats around and send them back to France.

Human rights organizations have argued that government policy towards migrants and refugees crossing the Channel is harsh and risked more deaths at sea. November 2021 saw 27 people, including a seven-year-old boy and a pregnant woman, drown there, the worst tragedy in the Channel’s history.

Organizations, including the Refugee Council, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, and Care4Calais, have argued that government’s approach is counterproductive and forces more people into the hands of human traffickers and smugglers, making the journey to the UK deadly and treacherous.

In January this year charities called on the British government to provide safer routes for refugees and migrants crossing the English Channel as the number of crossings increased significantly as well as an overall change to the “hostile environment” character of its immigration policy./aa