In a long-overdue move, the UK government recently announced changes to the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (HFUSS) guidance, allowing Ukrainian parents with status under one the Ukraine visa schemes to sponsor minor children to bring them to safety. For some families, this news came as a huge relief, almost 12 months after the former government changed the sponsor eligibility to prevent most Ukrainians from sponsoring their own relatives.

For others however, this guidance change offers no remedy to the pain inflicted by prolonged separation from loved ones, who remain in a country involved in ongoing conflict. This research report, the fourth in our Ukraine series, explains why this guidance change matters, and why further concessions are necessary. 

The UK’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine marked the biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe since WWII. In response, the UK adopted three bespoke Ukraine Visa Schemes, giving Ukrainians and some family members the right to live, work, and claim public funds in the UK for 36 months. 

Many Ukrainian people who came to the UK under the schemes left behind disabled, elderly, and orphaned relatives under the belief they would be able to act as their sponsor further down the line. 

But on February 19 2023, without consultation or warning, the former Conservative Government restricted sponsor eligibility under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme to only British or Irish citizens or persons settled in the UK, effectively preventing Ukrainians with status under the schemes from sponsoring their own family. 

On 31 January 2025, following ongoing pressure from charities, the media, and a legal case brought by the Work Rights Centre, the Home Office conceded to allowing Ukrainian parents with status under the Ukraine visa schemes to sponsor minor children under the HFUSS. 

Findings

Our research evidences how many households are still experiencing the profoundly damaging impacts of separation from elderly parents, child siblings and disabled relatives who remain stranded in Ukraine. The study, which surveyed 237 Ukrainian people seeking family reunification, found that:

• Only 10% of respondents benefited from the recent government concession allowing parents to sponsor their children.

• 84% remain separated from their family members, including elderly parents, siblings, and disabled relatives.

• Just 11% had managed to find a sponsor who met the strict new criteria introduced in last February last year.

• Mental health and integration suffer: 85% reported mental health issues due to separation, 71% said their family relationships were negatively affected, and 41% struggled to integrate into UK society.

Ministers must act now to extend this concession and allow all Ukrainians to sponsor family members so they can come to the UK to be together in safety.

The UK government has publicly declared its commitment to the Ukrainian people. The war in Ukraine has not ended. Ministers must do everything in their power to not add to the suffering of refugees who have already lost so much.

We urge policymakers to fully reverse the past government’s changes, allowing Ukrainians with status under the visa schemes to sponsor any person still in Ukraine, whether they are elderly parents, disabled relatives, or orphaned siblings.