Ukrainian refugees, visas, etc

[hitmouse]

Thought it might be worth having a thread specifically for UK P&P stuff related to Ukrainian refugees, visas and so on. A few links to start off:

Charities and opposition parties urge UK to do more for Ukrainian refugees

Lib Dems call for fully funded refugee scheme and Mark Drakeford wants Wales to be a ‘nation of sanctuary’

www.theguardian.com

Ukraine invasion: Charities urge UK to welcome thousands of refugees

Charities say the UK should play a leading role, as the UN warns five million people could be displaced.

www.bbc.co.uk

And the current official government stance:

Home Secretary announces visa concessions for Ukrainians

Changes allow Ukrainians in the UK to have their visas temporarily extended or to be able to switch onto different visa routes.

www.gov.uk

Building on immediate support provided in recent weeks to assist British Nationals to leave Ukraine, the Home Secretary has today confirmed that Ukrainians who are on work, study or visit visas in the UK will have their visas temporarily extended or be able to switch onto different visa routes.


Changes announced for Ukrainian nationals in the UK include:

• Ukrainian nationals on an existing points-based system route can extend their leave in the UK
• Ukrainian nationals on an existing visitor visa can exceptionally switch into a points-based system immigration route without having to leave the UK
• Ukrainian nationals on an existing visitor visa can apply under the family route for further leave without meeting the immigration status requirement, provided they meet the requirements for leave based on exceptional circumstances
• Ukrainian nationals on an existing seasonal worker visa will have their leave in the UK extended to 31 December 2022
• Ukrainian nationals in temporary HGV/pork butcher jobs will have their leave in the UK extended to 31 December 2022 and will also be allowed to apply to the skilled worker route

These concessions are available for people with valid visas in the UK.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, they will be allowed to carry on driving HGVs and slaughtering pigs until 31 December 2022.

 

[brogdale]

Utter cunts running this state.

 

[ska invita]

already posted this in the main thread but reposting here also

racism at the polish border

26 Zambian Students Spend Cold Night At Polish Border, Plead For Rescue | The Zambian Observer

zambianobserver.com

Finding it difficult to evacuate students stuck at Ukraine-Polish border, says Indian official

India is finding it difficult to safely evacuate many students stuck at the Ukraine-Polish border said a government official in Poland on Saturday

www.bignewsnetwork.com

etc

likewise reports of nonwhite Ukrainian nationals not being allowed on trains, rejected at the border etc

 

[brogdale]

Meanwhile...

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Meanwhile...

View attachment 312023

 

[emanymton]

Fucking wankers.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

already posted this in the main thread but reposting here also

racism at the polish border

26 Zambian Students Spend Cold Night At Polish Border, Plead For Rescue | The Zambian Observer

zambianobserver.com

Finding it difficult to evacuate students stuck at Ukraine-Polish border, says Indian official

India is finding it difficult to safely evacuate many students stuck at the Ukraine-Polish border said a government official in Poland on Saturday

www.bignewsnetwork.com

etc

likewise reports of nonwhite Ukrainian nationals not being allowed on trains, rejected at the border etc

And a follow-up article about the Zambian students: Evans Soneka, 23, first Zambian student in Ukraine crosses into Poland and welcomed by Zambian Embassy staff in Berlin

Sounds like there might have been some confusion initially but people are getting through now.

 

[Dom Traynor]

I used to work with a Nigerian Pole and although he lived in the UK then that was because of his Polish born wife he would have stayed in Poland.

 

[zahir]

Ukrainians denied entry to UK despite being eligible for visa

British citizens trying to bring their families to the UK are grappling bureaucracy in Paris despite new visa rules

www.theguardian.com

Yakiv Voloshchuk, 60, a British citizen, rescued his wife, Oksana Voloshchuk, 41 and their daughter, Veronika Voloshchuk, from Poland on 26 February.

He drove from his home in London to the Polish border and waited for them to get across Ukraine’s border with Poland. He then did a return 24-hour journey by road across Europe before reaching Paris on Sunday where he hoped he would get the green light from British officials to bring his wife and daughter on the last leg of the journey to the UK.

The family hoped it would be straightforward to reach the UK, especially after the publication of new Home Office guidance giving permission for some immediate family members of British citizens to apply free of charge to join their loved ones in the UK.

But when Oksana and Veronika tried to apply for the new visa online they were blocked from proceeding unless they paid thousands of pounds, even though the application is supposed to be free.

“We just don’t know what to do,” Voloshchuk told the Guardian on Monday morning. “My wife’s bank account in Ukraine is frozen. We have booked into a hotel in Paris for a couple of days but I want to bring my family back to the UK to my home in London. We are getting very worried about my daughter because she is type 1 diabetic and is running out of insulin. We also don’t have a lot of money for food. She needs to eat regularly.

“We went to Calais yesterday to try to cross to UK but we were refused permission and told to go to the visa centre in Paris. But when we tried to apply online the application says we need to pay £2,200 each and medical charges. The embassy is saying they can’t help. I am very worried about my daughter and I don’t understand why we have not been allowed to reach the UK.”

 

[Pickman's model]

Meanwhile...

View attachment 312023

 

[donkyboy]

already posted this in the main thread but reposting here also

racism at the polish border

26 Zambian Students Spend Cold Night At Polish Border, Plead For Rescue | The Zambian Observer

zambianobserver.com

Finding it difficult to evacuate students stuck at Ukraine-Polish border, says Indian official

India is finding it difficult to safely evacuate many students stuck at the Ukraine-Polish border said a government official in Poland on Saturday

www.bignewsnetwork.com

etc

likewise reports of nonwhite Ukrainian nationals not being allowed on trains, rejected at the border etc

I wish we could get video evidence of this. Then no one could deny or lie that it ain't happening. Wonder why the BBC are not publishing it?

 

[gosub]

Meanwhile...

View attachment 312023

Its times like this having a Foreign Secretary might come in handy. I not entirely sure why we need a Minister for dressing up and photo oppurtunities

 

[brogdale]

Its times like this having a Foreign Secretary might come in handy. I not entirely sure why we need a Minister for dressing up and photo oppurtunities

"governance" as LARP

 

[donkyboy]

I wish we could get video evidence of this. Then no one could deny or lie that it ain't happening. Wonder why the BBC are not publishing it?

 

[ska invita]

lowest of the low
i hope Poland takes a long hard fucking look at itself after this:

Polish nationalists attempt to attack African, Middle Eastern students fleeing Ukraine

Dozens of Polish nationalists gathered on Tuesday evening near the train station in Przemyśl, where refugees from Middle East and Africa fleeing the war in Ukraine are being sheltered, and attempted to attack them. The attackers, linked to the local football team’s ‘’hooligans,’’ approached groups of African and Middle Eastern students, who have just arrived in Poland from cities in Ukraine that have been invaded by the Russians, and harassed them, shouting slogans and anti-immigrant chants.

‘’Around 7 pm, these men started to shout and yell against groups of African and Middle Eastern refugees who were outside the train station,’’ two Polish journalists from the press agency OKO, who first reported the incident, told me. ‘’They yelled at them: ‘Go back to the train station! Go back to your country!’’

Polish Police reacted by chasing some of the nationalists and dispersing the crowd.


“I was with my friends, buying something to eat outside,” says Sara, 22, from Egypt and a student in Ukraine. “These men came and started to harass a group of men from Nigeria. They wouldn’t let an African boy go inside a place to eat some food. Then they came towards us and yelled Go back to your country!’’

Sara says that Middle Eastern and African refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine have faced discrimination and violence at the country’s border posts by Ukrainian authorities.

On Monday, the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, said: “All who flee a conflict situation have the same right to safe passage under UN convention and the colour of their passport or their skin should make no difference,” citing reports that Ukrainian police had obstructed Nigerians.

According to reports, Ukrainian officials “showed racist acts”, attempting to force African refugees to the back of the queue in front of the frontier with Poland.

 

[zahir]

Just 300 Ukrainian refugees granted visas to come to the UK

Labour criticises ‘shockingly low’ total as people attempting to flee war complain of technical difficulties with system

www.theguardian.com

Ukrainians attempting to flee to safety in the UK have described intense frustration and anger at the bureaucratic hurdles and technical difficulties involved in securing a visa under the new scheme.

Numerous applicants said they were stuck in unfamiliar countries on the border with Ukraine, unable to come to the UK because they were wrestling with the complex application process. Some said they were having difficulties uploading crucial documents or the application website was crashing, while others said there were no appointment slots available to finalise their applications, or that they were dismayed to be asked to post supporting documents to an office in Wandsworth.

Families in the UK who are trying to help relatives make their way to Britain said they were confused by the complexity of the visa form.

“I understand they are under pressure with many applications, but the system is not flexible. This is a humanitarian crisis,” a British citizen, who asked not to be named, said, as she struggled to submit a visa application for her aunt and 14-year-old cousin who have fled Kyiv and are currently in Romania.

An apparent glitch in the system meant she was unable to upload documents proving the family connection, and received an email telling her she should post supporting documents to an address in Wandsworth, along with a fee of £75 per application (or £100 for a priority service) for the documents to be scanned. When she called the Home Office hotline on Sunday, staff said they were aware of an issue with uploading documents. “I’m furious with the process. My aunt has fled war, grabbed only important belongings, doesn’t speak English and desperately wants to be with family.”

 

[frogwoman]

Romania has cancelled visas for people coming from Ukraine and Moldova. This also includes Russian citizens. Might be useful if you know any Russians trying to get out.

 

[LDC]

Any projects sorting out and offering places to stay for people here in the UK leaving Ukraine that people know of?

 

[not a trot]

Have a feeling Tories are already thinking about the impact this may have on the local elections. We all know how cuntish Tory voters can be.

 

[ska invita]

Any projects sorting out and offering places to stay for people here in the UK leaving Ukraine that people know of?

is it still the case you have to have family here to get a UK visa?

 

[zahir]

I wouldn't usually bother with petitions but I think this is worth signing.

Petition: Waive visa requirement for Ukrainian refugees.

Join other nations in providing a route to safety for refugees. Waive all visa requirements for Ukrainian passport holders arriving in the UK.

petition.parliament.uk

eta: 135,983 so far and rising rapidly.

 

[zahir]

It could be a case where the numbers signing will actually help to get the government to back down.

136,361 now.

 

[LDC]

is it still the case you have to have family here to get a UK visa?

No idea, and might be wider/distant family, or family with no space for others etc. I was thinking.

 

[Pickman's model]

It could be a case where the numbers signing will actually help to get the government to back down.

i think you're very optimistic that simple numbers would do it. as you can see from the sanctions, this government has no shame. and if they wouldn't up their game after presiding over the deaths of more people than died from enemy action in the uk then i have no great confidence in the prospects for any improvement now

 

[belboid]

is it still the case you have to have family here to get a UK visa?

Yup

 

[Sue]

This is seriously WTAF and Patel basically lied in Parliament (again)

'Priti Patel has been accused of presiding over chaos after Ukrainian refugees arriving in Calais were greeted by posters telling them to get their UK visas in Paris or Brussels, while her pledge to expand the visa scheme was contradicted by Downing Street.

On a day of confusion and uncertainty for Ukrainian refugees making the 1,400-mile journey to Britain, the home secretary admitted that she has not yet set up a visa application centre (VAC) near the French port of Calais, where refugees have gathered. It also emerged that the UK office in Brussels is open for only three half-days a week to process applications.

Appearing before MPs on Monday, Patel said her department was in the process of setting up a VAC “en route” to Calais to cross the Channel to Britain. “We have staff in Calais, we have support on the ground. It is wrong to say we’re just turning people back, we’re absolutely not, we’re supporting those that have been coming to Calais,” she said.

Stella Creasy, the Labour MP, said: “As of an hour ago there was a poster in Calais saying, ‘No visas delivered in Calais.’ It tells people to go to an online form and then go to Paris or Brussels.”'

Priti Patel under fire over chaotic Ukrainian refugee policy

Home Office sources contradict earlier government denials that third way to enter Britain may be introduced

www.theguardian.com

 

[AmateurAgitator]

This is to help those at the border. Please give serious thought to donating if you can and sharing :

Ukraine border relief. Depart 15th April.

We are private individuals who wish to bring comfort and sanctuary to those who are displaced by a war not of their making. We aim to supply food, medical supplies and transport. Why? That is simple. Because we can. How could we not?

fundrazr.com

 

[zahir]

 

[weltweit]

I am ashamed of the UKs handling of the Ukrainian refugee situation.

I am pretty sure I heard Johnson touting that we were the most generous - which is absolute crap!

I have met people here who wouldn't want a single refugee getting into the country.

My bet is that they are in a small and stinking minority.

 

[planetgeli]

Just posted in the other thread.

It's shit.

Ukraine war: Refugee's daughter says there's a risk of riots at visa centre

The daughter of a Ukrainian refugee tells of anger and frustration as MPs criticise the UK visa system.

www.bbc.co.uk