By Dmitri Macmillen - 31 January 2023
On the 24th of February 2022, Russian military forces launched a devastating full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have since arrived in the UK seeking safety, and many thousands of Ukrainians already in the UK prior to last February have been unable to return home. We stand in solidarity with them and with their families.
Since the full-scale invasion, the Work Rights Centre has been working hard to help Ukrainians and their family members affected by the war, including those already in the UK – such work has included extensive immigration advice and support. We have observed that many of our clients are experiencing significant delays in the processing of their in-country immigration applications. With (a) limited to no procedures to expedite decision-making, (b) no set processing timescales, and (c) few or no effective ways of accessing information on outstanding applications, we have seen our clients and their family members left in or at risk of precarity.
About the research project
We are running a survey to provide the Work Rights Centre and other stakeholders with a better understanding of the issue of in-country application delays for Ukrainians and their family members, and the impact these delays have on applicants and those they are supporting. The survey is available in English, Ukrainian and Russian. If you have any feedback on the survey, please don’t hesitate to contact the Work Rights Centre research team.
Data
All the survey data is collected and stored anonymously. If a person wishes to speak to us to provide a more detailed account of their circumstances and the impact visa delays have had on them, they have the option in the survey to provide their email address so we can contact them.
We want to use this data to produce robust, evidence-backed research, which can be circulated to stakeholders in central government and elsewhere. Our publications will never identify individuals. Whenever we will refer to case studies we will remove all identifying details, and ensure that participants have given us prior consent.
How can I get support?
We are a team of charity professionals and volunteers dedicated to supporting Ukrainian nationals and their family members in the UK, as well as other migrants and disadvantaged Britons.
If you need help with immigration, employment, housing, or accessing benefits in the UK, contact us. We will do our best to support you, or refer you to a suitably qualified colleague.
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