UK Home Secretary Priti Patel launches Ukraine family visa scheme

“The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainians, providing humanitarian practical assistance,” said the minister (File)

London:

Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday formally launched the Ukraine Family Scheme visa, announced earlier by the government, to allow British citizens and UK settlers to bring their Ukrainian relatives affected by the conflict with Russia .

The Indian-origin minister traveled to Medyka in eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine, to see the situation on the ground and extend visas to those fleeing war zones in neighboring countries.

The Family Scheme visa will be offered free of charge and will allow Ukrainian family members of UK-based citizens and those with permanent residency to stay in the UK for up to three years.

“It is heartbreaking to meet the families, women and children forced out of their homeland by the monstrous Russian invasion,” Ms Patel said after visiting the Ukrainian refugee reception center in Medica with Poland’s Deputy Interior Minister Bartosz Grodeki.

“Our Extended Ukraine Family Plan is now fully open and it was wonderful to see the first people apply. While we want people to be able to return to their homes at the end of this satanic invasion, giving thousands of people a way out The UK is the right thing to do,” he said.

“The whole of Britain stands united in condemning Russia’s barbaric and cold-blooded actions and the government is doing everything possible to ensure that our humanitarian support is in the best interest of Ukraine,” he said.

UK Home Office staff have also traveled to Poland to advise refugees, including processing visas and ensuring a faster visa service to help the flow of people arriving at the Ukrainian border.

The Home Office said a new pop-up Visa Application Center has also opened in Rzczów, Poland, and that the total number of visa appointments in the region will increase to 6,000 from next week.

“The British government will do everything possible to support the people of Ukraine at this critical moment as they fight for independence,” Patel said ahead of his visit to Poland.

“I have developed the Ukraine Family Plan after discussions with the Ukrainian government and neighboring countries and am proud to have launched it in just a few days, making it possible for Ukrainians to live with family in the United Kingdom for a safe, quick and free time. to be welcomed.” he said.

“The United Kingdom works side-by-side with the Ukrainians to provide humanitarian practical assistance,” she said.

The visa, which was initially for immediate family, has been expanded to include parents, grandparents and siblings. A separate sponsorship scheme would also allow individuals and organizations to bring Ukrainians to the UK. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that Britain could take 200,000 or more Ukrainians under these initiatives.

The opposition Labor Party has called for further emergency security visas for Ukrainians fleeing Russian attacks as a “simpler and safer route to sanctuary now”.

The United Nations (UN) estimates that more than one million people have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack last week.

The Labor Party said, “Many relatives of UK residents still do not qualify under family visas, the community sponsorship program will take time to establish, and there is still no way for people in the UK to help Ukrainian friends.” There is no provision.”

On Thursday, the Liberal Democrats suggested the government should seize properties owned by oligarchs close to President Putin and use them to house Ukrainian refugees.

Asked about the proposal on LBC radio on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab replied: “Yes, absolutely. We are seeing everything in the round, it is a team effort across the government.” Meanwhile, the UK government announced a complete asset freeze and another set of travel restrictions on Russia’s two leading oligarchs with “critical” UK interests and close ties to the Kremlin.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said on Thursday night that oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov – whose total is worth USD 19 billion – have been approved with immediate effect.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Our message to Putin and his allies has been clear from day one – attacking Ukraine will have dire and dire economic consequences.”

“Approving Usmanov and Shuvalov sends a clear message that we will kill the oligarchs and individuals associated with the Putin regime and their barbaric war. We will not stop here. Our aim is to cripple the Russian economy and starve Putin’s war machine.” is,” she said. said.

The minister also plans to set up a so-called “oligarch taskforce” of ministers and officials from UK government departments as an expert group to coordinate sanctions, to help build cases against the oligarch’s list. , which have been identified as targets.

As part of the latest goals, Usmanov was interested in the English football clubs Arsenal and Everton. He owns Beachwood House in the Highgate area of ​​north London, estimated to be worth 48 million GBP, and a 16th-century Sutton Place property in Surrey.

Shuvalov’s estate in the UK consists of two luxury apartments in central London, worth an estimated GBP 11 million. He has been called a “core part” of Putin’s inner circle, and led Russia’s bid for the 2018 Football World Cup.