Following the statement made by the Home Secretary to Parliament on 1 March 2022, the Ukraine Scheme has now been introduced to allow ‘Ukrainians (and non Ukrainian nationals who form part of a family group which includes an immediate family member who is Ukrainian) who were resident in Ukraine before 1 January 2022 and who have family members in the UK, to apply under the scheme to come to the UK’. This will allow Ukrainians and family members who are in the UK and who meet the criteria – who may have, for example, permission as a visitor or no permission at all – to regularise their status.
Who is eligible to apply?
To be eligible under the Ukraine Scheme the applicant must be an eligible family member of a UK based sponsor, who is resident in the UK (although the sponsor does not have to be physically present in the UK at this moment), unless they are a British citizen. The UK based sponsor must be one of the following:
- a British citizen; or
- a person who is present and settled in the UK (including those with settled status under the EUSS); or
- a person in the UK with refugee leave or with humanitarian protection; or
- a person in the UK with limited leave under Appendix EU (pre-settled status under the EUSS).
And the applicant must be a family member in one of the following relationships:
- Immediate family (at least one of whom must be Ukrainian), this includes a:
- partner of the UK-based sponsor; (including unmarried partner)
- child aged under 18 on the date of application of the UK based sponsor or their partner;
- parent of a child aged under 18 on the date of application who is the child of the UK based sponsor; or
- fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of the UK based sponsor.
- Extended family, this includes a:
- parent of a person aged 18 or over on the date of application who is the UK-based sponsor;
- grandparent of the UK-based sponsor;
- grandchild of the UK-based sponsor or their partner; o sibling of the UK based sponsor; or
- adult child aged 18 or over on the date of application of the UK based sponsor.
- Immediate family of an extended family member, this includes a:
- partner of an extended family member;
- child aged under 18 on the date of application of an extended family member;
- parent of a child aged under 18 on the date of application who is an extended family member; or
- fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of an extended family member. Where applying as an immediate family member of an extended family member, the extended family member must be applying at the same time or have been granted under the scheme.
Applications received by applicants who do not meet the relationship requirements may be refused. However, caseworkers may apply discretion to accept and consider applications from other family members where they are evidenced and there are exceptional reasons to do so. A case may be exceptional where, for example, the decision to refuse would mean separating an individual from their long-term family unit. An applicant should provide evidence of their situation where possible, and all decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis
Additional points to note;
- Application form: an application under the Ukraine Scheme must be made on the ‘Ukraine Scheme’ application form.
- This Scheme is free for applicants. No fee or Immigration Health Surcharge will need to be paid.
- All applicants are, in most circumstances, required to give their biometrics.
- The best evidence of identity applicants on the Ukraine Scheme can provide is a valid passport. In the absence of a valid passport, the applicant may provide one or more of the following:
- A recently expired passport, which has not exceeded its expiry date by more than 10 years for applicants aged over 25 and for applicants aged under 25 years by no more than 5 years
- Ukrainian National identity card Page
- UK issued biometric residence permit or card
- A combination of other official documents containing a facial image that would enable the applicant to establish their identity and nationality, which could include a photo driving licence and a birth certificate
- Where the applicant does not have any of these documents, the caseworker should ask them to explain why and record this on the system, and to provide any other documentation that may help to evidence their identity and nationality
- The sponsors must provide evidence of their identity:
- British citizen sponsors should a copy of their British passport
- Holders of EU settled status must provide a copy of the front and back of their biometric residence card (BRC) if they hold one or the document-number they used to register their online status along with their date of birth
- Holders of other forms of immigration leave should submit a copy of both sides of their biometric residence permit
- Holders of eVisas, such as holders of EU settlement scheme leave, can submit the “something else” purpose ShareCode, which starts with an ‘S’, alongside their date of birth, which can be generated using the View and prove your immigration status, which remains valid for up to 90-days from when it was generated.
- Alternatively, they can provide a copy of their “Written notification of leave” which was sent to them when their application was granted.
Period of Grant – the applicants should be granted permission to stay for 36 months
