UNCERTAINTY about whether Ukrainian refugees’ visas will likely be prolonged could cause a few of them to be made homeless, the Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, has warned the Government.
Dr Hartley spoke within the House of Lords last Friday during a debate on the situation in Ukraine. It will soon be two years for the reason that Russian invasion.
She said: “A recent meeting of one among the networks of Homes for Ukraine in my diocese reported back to me uncertainty over the longer term of visas, a lot of that are only a yr away from expiry, with no information available about how and when these is perhaps prolonged. . .
“The visa issue is particularly concerning, because it is affecting young people doing public exams in the meanwhile, who must make decisions about further education for which they’re required to have a legitimate three-year visa status for the length of courses or apprenticeships from the outset.”
Uncertainty about visa extensions was also causing anxiety to Ukrainian refugees because landlords were legally required to confirm that tenants had a right to stay within the UK, and lots of private tenancies were for 12 months at a time, she said (News, 22 September 2023). “This will soon turn out to be a critical issue, potentially leading to homelessness.”
The Bishop also raised the matter of Ukrainians within the UK who held occupational qualifications and required statements to substantiate that such qualifications were comparable to UK ones.
“Obtaining comparability statements is a key to them having the ability to get well employment, turn out to be less depending on the state — but there are significant fees involved, and this could act as a brake on progress,” she said.
Dr Hartley also spoke concerning the wider situation in Ukraine. The current system of world governance was “struggling to satisfy the interlinked crises of our current age”, she said.
“What scenario-planning is the Government undertaking presently? What is our capability, because the United Kingdom, to fight an escalated war, provided that we’re always hearing — and, indeed, very recently hearing — that there are insufficient resources? Do we have now the capability to keep up what we keep promising? . . . What preparations are being made now for a future none of us want?”
She asked whether the Government — and the Opposition, provided that a General Election was likely soon — was preparing for the effect that a change of political leadership within the United States would have on a Russian victory within the war.
She concluded: “My Lords, Ukraine has to win, and be free to pursue its democratic path, but what in the event that they don’t win? My Lords, I support the Government in its support of Ukraine, but these questions should not merely academic, they’ve immediate and longer-term implications and require energetic exploration and planning now.”
Lord Minto, a Minister of State on the Ministry of Defence, responded for the Government concerning the query of visas, which was also raised by several other peers. “I can be delighted to satisfy and discuss this and, so far as the Home Office is worried, we’ll take that message back and make it absolutely clear,” he said.
