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In the light of recent events the UK has recently introduced a Family Scheme Visa for family members of UK resident Ukrainians[0]. For immediate and extended fa

In the light of recent events the UK has recently introduced a Family Scheme Visa for family members of UK resident Ukrainians[0]. For immediate and extended family members. 0: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-ukraine-family-scheme-visa https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-ukraine-family-schem...

sparsely 5y ago
This is a visa scheme, you have to apply and stuff at a centre, and the centre in Ukraine is closed!
- makomk 5y ago
  Pretty sure there's no way of getting from Ukraine to the UK without passing through at least one country (possibly even multiple) which do have centers that it's possible to apply for UK visas in - not since their airspace closed to commercial traffic at the start of the war at least.
  - mattmoose21 5y ago
    I wonder if there is a high demand in any of these countries that could cause delays in getting these processed.
- denysonique 5y ago
  The application is made online, then you book and attend an appointment at a Visa Application Centre in one of the following locations: Budapest, Hungary Chisinau, Moldova Warsaw, Poland Bucharest, Romania Paris, France Flights in Ukraine have been suspended, you will have to travel through one of these cities anyway.
SassyThrowaway 5y ago
Importantly, you have to be a permanent resident in the UK to host your family. I respect the UK's immigration policy, and very much appreciate the chance to pursue an exciting job opportunity in the UK that I took a year ago. And yet it saddens me that I cannot help my family in the period of uncertainty by offering a certain path to safety.
jlokier 5y ago
Many Ukrainians resident in the UK will not meet the official criteria to bring those close to them in, because they will not have reached the status called "Indefinite Leave to Remain", "Permanent Residence" or "Settled" (as opposed to "Pre-Settled"), each of which take 5 years if I recall correctly. For UK citizens wanting to bring a family member from Ukraine, I hope it's not like the regular, draconian family scheme where approximately 50% of UK citizens with a foreign spouse cannot meet the eligibility criteria to bring in even their own spouse, so they have to move abroad to be together. (I was astonished when I first learned that, as I'd grown up imagining that genuine marriage conferred the right to live together.) The UK Home Office strongly rejected what is a high-level human right in the EU, that is "right to family life". Even UK-born UK citizens don't have it.
- maffydub 5y ago
  > For UK citizens wanting to bring a family member from Ukraine, I hope it's not like the regular, draconian family scheme where approximately 50% of UK citizens with a foreign spouse cannot meet the eligibility criteria to bring in even their own spouse, so they have to move abroad to be together. (I was astonished when I first learned that, as I'd grown up imagining that genuine marriage conferred the right to live together.) That astonishes me too! Which condition (https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse) do most people fail? Presumably poor knowledge of English (https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/knowledge-of-english https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/knowledge-of-english) or too low income (https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/proof-income https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/proof-income)?
  - jlokier 5y ago
    It's the income; affects people from English-speaking countries too. Perhaps recent wage inflation might change the proportions. It was about 50% of people last time I looked who couldn't meet the income requirement. Even if the foreign spouse earns a lot and can clearly support themselves, that can't be considered if they are abroad. Nor would a cash gift from parents or friends be accepted. So it is somewhat political. I've occasionally seen people who earn a lot, i.e. software engineers, who clearly exceed the income but have their application rejected because it's not paid in the exact form the Home Office is looking for when they examine a personal bank statement. Self-employed and contractors fall into this problem if they haven't received advice and planned for it, because they wouldn't normally pay themselves a monthly PAYE salary in the expected form and above the threshold.

sparsely 5y ago

This is a visa scheme, you have to apply and stuff at a centre, and the centre in Ukraine is closed!

makomk 5y ago
Pretty sure there's no way of getting from Ukraine to the UK without passing through at least one country (possibly even multiple) which do have centers that it's possible to apply for UK visas in - not since their airspace closed to commercial traffic at the start of the war at least.
- mattmoose21 5y ago
  I wonder if there is a high demand in any of these countries that could cause delays in getting these processed.
denysonique 5y ago
The application is made online, then you book and attend an appointment at a Visa Application Centre in one of the following locations: Budapest, Hungary Chisinau, Moldova Warsaw, Poland Bucharest, Romania Paris, France Flights in Ukraine have been suspended, you will have to travel through one of these cities anyway.

SassyThrowaway 5y ago

Importantly, you have to be a permanent resident in the UK to host your family. I respect the UK's immigration policy, and very much appreciate the chance to pursue an exciting job opportunity in the UK that I took a year ago. And yet it saddens me that I cannot help my family in the period of uncertainty by offering a certain path to safety.

jlokier 5y ago

Many Ukrainians resident in the UK will not meet the official criteria to bring those close to them in, because they will not have reached the status called "Indefinite Leave to Remain", "Permanent Residence" or "Settled" (as opposed to "Pre-Settled"), each of which take 5 years if I recall correctly. For UK citizens wanting to bring a family member from Ukraine, I hope it's not like the regular, draconian family scheme where approximately 50% of UK citizens with a foreign spouse cannot meet the eligibility criteria to bring in even their own spouse, so they have to move abroad to be together. (I was astonished when I first learned that, as I'd grown up imagining that genuine marriage conferred the right to live together.) The UK Home Office strongly rejected what is a high-level human right in the EU, that is "right to family life". Even UK-born UK citizens don't have it.

maffydub 5y ago
> For UK citizens wanting to bring a family member from Ukraine, I hope it's not like the regular, draconian family scheme where approximately 50% of UK citizens with a foreign spouse cannot meet the eligibility criteria to bring in even their own spouse, so they have to move abroad to be together. (I was astonished when I first learned that, as I'd grown up imagining that genuine marriage conferred the right to live together.) That astonishes me too! Which condition (https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse) do most people fail? Presumably poor knowledge of English (https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/knowledge-of-english https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/knowledge-of-english) or too low income (https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/proof-income https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/proof-income)?
- jlokier 5y ago
  It's the income; affects people from English-speaking countries too. Perhaps recent wage inflation might change the proportions. It was about 50% of people last time I looked who couldn't meet the income requirement. Even if the foreign spouse earns a lot and can clearly support themselves, that can't be considered if they are abroad. Nor would a cash gift from parents or friends be accepted. So it is somewhat political. I've occasionally seen people who earn a lot, i.e. software engineers, who clearly exceed the income but have their application rejected because it's not paid in the exact form the Home Office is looking for when they examine a personal bank statement. Self-employed and contractors fall into this problem if they haven't received advice and planned for it, because they wouldn't normally pay themselves a monthly PAYE salary in the expected form and above the threshold.