UK minister Priti Patel voices ‘frustration’ over Ukraine refugee delays

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday voiced her “frustration” at the slow process of rehousing Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian conflict.

The Indian-origin minister was speaking with reference to the latest UK Home Office figures, which show the government has granted 41,000 visas to Ukrainians fleeing the war zone but of those only around a quarter at 12,500 have reached the UK.

''I'll be very candid, it has taken time. Any new scheme takes time, any new visa system takes time,'' Patel told the BBC.

''It's been frustrating. I apologise, with frustration, myself,'' the senior Cabinet minister said.

Around 10,800 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the UK under the Family Scheme for those with relatives in the UK. This represents about a third of the 28,500 applicants granted or a total of 36,300 that have applied.

Patel described the UK response to the war in Ukraine as ''very generous''. However, the government has faced criticism over the number of refugees physically arriving into the UK, which remains far below the numbers arriving in other comparable European countries.

In March, the European Union (EU) granted Ukrainian refugees rights to live and work in the EU, and to access healthcare, housing and education immediately for up to three years without going through a formal immigration process.

Patel said any comparison with the UK was ''not like-for-like'' as the UK was now an independent third country, and “we want to give people the status and security of coming to our country, along with the warm welcome”.

Would-be British sponsors of refugees under the Homes For Ukraine visa route have complained of bureaucracy and delays in bringing their sponsored Ukrainian families in need of refugee over to Britain. The Opposition Labour Party’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, called the visa numbers ''scandalous and shameful''.

''Over 30,000 people with British sponsors waiting are still stuck in limbo, around half of whom have been waiting more than 10 days already to hear anything,'' said Cooper.

''Behind these numbers are many desperate mothers and children in temporary accommodation or still sheltering in Ukraine. British families have offered Ukrainians sanctuary in their hour of need, but the Home Secretary is letting everyone down,'' she said.

But Patel has stressed the importance of security checks and insisted those checks were not causing delays to the system.

''I see security and intelligence – not just advice, but reports – every single day. I know what is going on in the world. I know what is going on in the region. I know what Russia is capable of,'' she said.