A former British Cabinet minister said he has taken three Ukrainian refugees into his home but that the process involved was “overly bureaucratic”, adding to criticism of the UK’s visa sponsorship scheme.
Robert Jenrick said it took three weeks for visa approval for Maria, 40, and her children Bohdan, 15, and Khrystyna, 11, who spent seven hours queuing at the Polish border to leave Ukraine.
They are among 3,200 people given shelter under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which has been plagued by reports of excessive bureaucracy and fears for the safety of vulnerable women.
Mr Jenrick told a Daily Telegraph podcast that the scheme was off to a “bumpy start” and “tested the patience” of British sponsors and Ukrainians seeking help.
“There were simple things that we could and should have done from the outset, like having the form in Ukrainian, for example,” said Mr Jenrick, who said security checks were taking too long.
The scheme as it stands is “overly bureaucratic”, he said. “I’m not sure whether you need to be doing checks on minors who are extremely unlikely to be threats to this country.”
Mr Jenrick was housing secretary in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government until he was dropped from the Cabinet in a reshuffle last year.
He said some initial frustration was to be expected based on his experience as a minister dealing with refugee schemes for people from Hong Kong, Syria and Afghanistan.
“But I do think that we will get over those bumps, we are getting over them now,” he said.
Other MPs to offer sanctuary include former health secretary Matt Hancock, who said he plans to take in seven refugees, and North Norfolk's Duncan Baker, who has opened his doors to a mother and son.
Despite the difficulties, Mr Jenrick said it was rewarding to see the three Ukrainians feel safe after what he called a harrowing experience escaping the Russian invasion of their country.
He said he would not accept the £350 ($460) a month payment for hosts for himself but might give it to the Ukrainian family.
The government said 94,700 people had applied for UK visas as of Monday under two parallel schemes for Ukrainians set up since Russia invaded.
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Mykhaila and her daughter from Loubny, central Ukraine, travelled by train to the Ukrainian city of Lviv then took a bus to Medyka on the Polish border, before walking across. Photo: DEC -
Women hold hands at the Medyka border crossing point, through which thousands of Ukrainian refugees have passed. Photo: DEC -
Angelika, 27, and her daughter Diana, 4, from Khmelnytskyi in Ukraine arrive at a reception centre on the outskirts of Przemysl, Poland. Photo: DEC -
Maria, 38, from Chernihiv, left Ukraine with a friend. They came to the Romanian border to wait for another friend before crossing. Photo: Panos Pictures -
Ukrainian Red Cross staff and volunteers are providing food and other basic necessities to about 8,000 people sheltering in an underground station in Kyiv. Photo: Tebukhukhov Maksym -
Kristina wipes away tears at Lwowska reception centre on the outskirts of Przemysl, Poland. Photo: DEC -
Ira, 45, and her daughter Olena, 12, outside a transit centre in Przemysl, Poland. Photo: Adrienne Surprenant -
Veronika feeds her son Aleksander at the temporary refugee station in Medyka, eastern Poland. Photo: DEC
About 16,400 people have been approved, of whom 13,200 are joining family members in Britain and 3,200 will be there under the sponsorship scheme.
Ministers apologised for delays but said some security checks are unavoidable to stop Russia sending undercover operatives or human traffickers passing their victims off as Ukrainian children.
Officials said that some appointments for UK visa applications are booked at the Polish border by people who, seemingly keeping their options open, never show up.
The UN’s refugee agency UNHCR expressed concern this week about increasing reports of Ukrainian women feeling at risk from their hosts, adding to the trauma of war and displacement.
It advised that women and children, who make up the vast majority of refugees from Ukraine, should be placed with couples or families rather than single men.
