Furious Homes for Ukraine hosts seek answers over 'lost data' holding up visas
25 April 2022, 16:34
Furious British homeowners who have been waiting almost five weeks to welcome Ukrainian families to safety have handed the names of almost 1,000 refugees to former Home Secretary Theresa May.
The campaign group formed to demand answers from the Home Office, as the visas they applied for in the first week of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme’s launch still haven’t been approved.
They believe there has been an error causing some data to be lost for applications made between 18th - 25th March. The Home Office say they’re unaware of a data loss.
Mrs May agreed to meet with the group on Monday as her constituents are among the campaigners. Ahead of the meeting they gathered on Parliament Square with photographs of the families they’re sponsoring in Ukraine.
Nicky Coperman from Harrow told LBC: “We’re sponsoring a single lady from Sumy in North East Ukraine.
“It should be a very straightforward application, she has a full international biometric passport, proof of address in Ukraine, she’s even had a UK visa before. You’d think all of these things would make her easy to check out, but we’re now on day 26, still no visa.
“There seems to be a problem with applications from March, we don’t know why and the Home Office say if there is a specific problem. They keep saying they’re being processed in date order but that’s blatantly not true, because people who applied after us and people who’ve reapplied have got their visas.”
Debbie, who is waiting to welcome a mother and her two daughters, who are 7 and 8, told LBC: “The mum is getting really unwell - mentally she’s really struggling.
“She says she gets the children to bed, and just cries every night once they’re asleep. We think she’s going to be in quite a state by the time we get her back to us.”
A government spokesperson said: “In response to Putin’s barbaric invasion we launched one of the fastest and biggest visa schemes in UK history. In just six weeks, almost 72,000 visas have been issued so Ukrainians can live and work in the UK.
“The changes the Home Office has made to streamline the visa system, including simplifying the forms and boosting staff numbers, are working and we are now processing visas as quickly as they come in – enabling thousands more Ukrainians to come through our uncapped routes.”
