Priti Patel defends UK visa system for Ukrainian refugees
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky will address the Commons today via video link and is expected to plead for more arms and a no-fly zone over Ukraine to be enforced by Nato.
Mr Zelensky’s address comes as the UK Home Office revealed only 300 visas were granted to Ukrainians after receiving thousands of applications for its Ukraine Family Scheme.
A total of 8,900 applications have been submitted but just a few hundred have been approved, the government said.
Ukrainians coming to the UK told The Independent they are facing “total chaos” as they try to apply to join relatives in Britain under the Home Office’s bespoke visa scheme, as Downing Street contradicted Priti Patel’s pledge to expand the route.
Ministers have been accused of “badly letting Ukrainians down” after it emerged that those who have fled the Russian conflict are having to travel for hours and in some cases wait for days before they can make an application to the home secretary’s family migration route.
