Christians are becoming increasingly frustrated and impatient with the government’s ‘Homes for Ukraine’ visa scheme, the sponsorship initiative that allows people in the UK to offer Ukrainians fleeing the war a home here.
By early April, well over 30,000 applicants had not been matched with UK sponsors and only 1,200 Ukrainians had arrived here. This is in stark contrast to the position in other European countries, which have already accepted hundreds of thousands of people following the Russian invasion.
Iryna is Ukrainian and has lived in Sussex for the past 11 years. She has been trying to put those she knows in Ukraine who wish to leave in touch with people near her; so far she has matched 20 refugees with potential sponsors. She says the system is far too slow and bureaucratic, so she has turned to Facebook to make the necessary links. Even then, the visa system is almost impossible for non-English speakers to navigate. And UK sponsors trying to complete it also tend to find the online system baffling. Given the urgency of the situation Iryna wants the government to introduce automatic online matching. Despite some potential safeguarding snags which would need to be ironed out, she is convinced that would speed up the process.
Her views are echoed by Josep Rossello-Ferrer, Minister at Christ Church, Exmouth, Devon and a member of the GAFCON Bishops’ Forum. Many of his church members are trying to host, 30 Ukrainian families want to come, but none has succeeded so far. He travelled to Ukraine to see the situation for himself which, with first-hand experience, he calls a ‘nightmare’. He says that Homes for Ukraine is so dysfunctional that desperate Ukrainians are turning to social media to find sponsors, despite the potential dangers of sex trafficking and modern slavery. Josep believes the key immediate need is for safe methods of communication, especially translators who can help Ukrainians complete the online forms. He says the entire ‘process is very frustrating’ and reports that other European countries such as Spain, Germany and Portugal – where arrival procedures are much quicker and more straightforward – now appear far more attractive.
Will and Claire Richards are Ministry Leaders at Billingshurst Family Church (New Frontiers), West Sussex. They know of 50 families wanting to come and 25 potential sponsors, with seven matches arranged – but no refugees have arrived yet. They too want the system speeded up. They also urge churches to think carefully about other issues arriving families will face. Networks are essential, through which newly arrived Ukrainians may have access to trauma counselling, the chance to learn English, and may best understand how to access childcare, school places, benefits and appropriate employment opportunities, and how the NHS works. They are also keen that sponsors ‘resist the temptation to showcase refugees at their churches on arrival. They are here to be safe, not spoiled. All they want is to make a contribution’.
Paul Houghton of Christ Church, Fulwood, Sheffield has been linked with a family of five, but is having similar problems with British bureaucracy at every stage. Ten days after finalising all their documents at a Visa Application Centre (which required a two-hour journey across Germany) and receiving confirmation that all is satisfactory, they still await the government’s final green light to come.
In addition to, normally, undergoing DBS checks (although Sheffield City Council will be doing this after refugees have arrived), sponsors must ensure they have a working fire alarm; staircase handrails; a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a solid fuel burner and a safe gas supply. Rooming is another major issue. Paul Houghton says: ‘Lots of sponsors have offered two rooms, but the government stipulates that a Ukrainian family with, say, a grandmother, mother, 13-year-old girl, 11-year-old boy, and 3-year-old girl will require four separate bedrooms. Who has four spare rooms? If that means the family cannot move here, when they are currently living in cramped, substandard accommodation in Ukraine or Poland, perhaps we are letting perfection get in the way of the good’.
