Ukrainian Visa Backlog Overview:
- Who: Priti Patel may face a class action lawsuit over the UK’s visa backlog affecting people attempting to flee Ukraine.
- Why: The red tape is causing significant delays for Ukrainians who have applied for a visa, leaving them at risk during Russia’s invasion.
- Where: The proposed Ukraine visa class action will be filed in the UK.
A class action lawsuit may soon be filed against UK home secretary Priti Patel over delays caused by a visa backlog that has left thousands of Ukrainians at risk during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Save the Children, the Refugee Council and other charities have urged a prompt overhaul of the Homes for Ukraine programme because the visa backlog is adding “trauma on top of existing trauma” for vulnerable Ukrainians.
The Guardian reports that only 15% of the 74,700 Ukrainians who applied for a visa under the sponsorship program have made it to the UK.
UK Fails to Notify Ukrainians of Visa Approval, Advocates Say
The Home Office has reportedly approved many visas but failed to notify applicants of the approval, according to The Guardian. Families have reportedly been waiting as long as five weeks to receive news about their visa application at a time when Ukraine is under siege from Russian attacks.
Visa delays are also causing individual children to look for foster placements in the UK.
Immigration and public law barrister Amanda Jones will reportedly launch a UK visa class action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of Ukrainians.
Anaïs Crane, a caseworker representing unaccompanied Ukrainian children, says the children have been waiting more than a month for their foster placements.
“Many of them are now considering returning to Ukraine due to their precarious situations in Europe,” Crane told The Guardian.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, says that the visa process was “flawed from the start” and caused bureaucratic red tape to get in the way of helping Ukrainian refugees.
“Responding to what is clearly a serious humanitarian crisis with two visa routes … was always going to result in paper and bureaucracy being put before people and their needs,” Soloman told The Guardian. “Tragically, we are now witnessing the fallout of that approach.”
UK’s Ukraine Visa Process an ‘Outlier’ in Europe, IRC Says
The International Rescue Committee notes that the UK’s requirement that refugees apply for visas before they arrive in the country is an “outlier” in Europe, according to The Guardian.
Ireland, with a population of approximately a thirteenth of Britain’s, has reportedly taken in about the same number of Ukrainian refugees as the UK. Ireland reportedly does not require refugees to apply for a visa prior to arrival.
The proposed Ukraine visa class action lawsuit could involve a judicial review against Priti Patel and the Home Office.
Many countries have imposed harsh sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. In the US, as in other countries around the world, consumers are feeling the effects of the sanctions.
Do you think the Ukraine visa class action against Priti Patel should proceed? Join the discussion in the comments!
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