More than 100,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine have received sanctuary in the UK through its visa schemes, British government figures indicate.
The 104,000 includes 31,300 people under the family project, which entails refugees staying with relatives already in the UK, and 72,700 people signed up to the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme, under which people live with volunteer families.
The figures also show that, as of Tuesday, 198,200 applications had been made for visas, with 166,200 issued.
These include 55,000 applications under the family scheme, of which 47,200 visas have been granted, and 143,200 applications for the sponsorship scheme, of which 119,000 visas have been granted.
Overall, 62.6 per cent of those who have been issued with visas under either scheme have reached the UK. Those fleeing Ukraine can live in the UK for up to three years under the current agreement.
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An elderly couple stands near a damaged school in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. EPA -
At least one person was killed after shelling hit the school, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said. EPA -
A woman walks past a destroyed market near a railway station in Donetsk. Reuters -
Municipal workers clean a street in Donetsk. Reuters -
A man passes destroyed buildings in the Ukrainian town of Siversk. AFP -
A destroyed school in Siversk. AFP -
A Ukrainian serviceman passes by destroyed buildings in Siversk. AFP -
A woman's home is repaired by volunteers after being destroyed by shelling in the village of Zalissya. AFP -
People fill up water canisters in Mykolaiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Grain fields burn on the outskirts of Kurakhove, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. AP Photo -
The mother of Ukrainian serviceman Abdulkarim Gulamov, who was killed in a fight against Russian troops in Kherson, attends his funeral in Kyiv. Reuters -
People carry pictures of Mr Gulamov at the funeral. Reuters -
Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a M777 Howitzer in Kharkiv. Reuters -
A man walks in front of a damaged school after a missile strike hit the city of Kramatorsk. EPA -
A cyclist rides past burnt cars after a Russian rocket strike in Kharkiv. AFP -
Rescuers and servicemen work at a school building damaged by a Russian military strike in Kramatorsk. Reuters -
Sasha, 12, a refugee from Ukraine at the humanitarian aid centre set up at the Global Expo exhibition hall in Warsaw, Poland. AFP -
Maksym and Andrii, 11-year-old boys, play with plastic guns at a self-made checkpoint along a motorway in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian soldier nicknamed 'Oakland' guards his position at the front line in the Kharkiv region. AP -
Ukrainians look at destroyed Russian military equipment at an outdoor exhibition near the Church of the Three Saints in Kyiv. AFP -
A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) militia sits in a makeshift bunker near Avdiivka, in the Donbas region of Ukraine. EPA -
A DPR militia member monitors a section of the road near Avdiivka. EPA -
Ukrainians pass a heavily damaged shopping mall in the city of Kherson. AFP -
The rubble of a house in Moshchun village, about 20 kilometres outside Kyiv. EPA -
A resident helps a firefighter put out a fire after an air strike in the town of Bakhmut, in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk. AFP -
A woman surveys the devastation caused by an air strike in Bakhmut. AFP -
Part of a projectile fire by a rocket launcher lies embedded in a wheat field in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. AFP -
Members of the public look at a Ukrainian tank destroyed in a Russian attack, in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. EPA -
Burnt out cars destroyed in Russian attacks are piled up in Hostomel. EPA -
Jill Biden, US first lady, left, and US President Joe Biden welcome the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, to the White House. EPA -
Miami District Two commissioner Ken Russell, left, and Miami police chief Manuel Morales with weapons collected in the Guns 4 Ukraine initiative, at Miami City Hall in Florida. Guns bought back by Miami will be delivered to sister city Irpin, near Kyiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a Grad BM-21 multiple rocket launcher at the front line in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A woman walks her dog in front of a block of flats hit by shelling in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. EPA -
A Kramatorsk resident peers out of a window lined with tape to reduce the impact of shattering glass. EPA -
The damaged windows of an apartment, after shells hit a residential area in Kramatorsk. EPA -
Rescuers working on a residential building partially destroyed by missile strike in Bashtanka, Mykolaiv as the Russian war in Ukraine continues. AFP -
An Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicle lies by the roadside, having been destroyed by Russian forces in Ukraine. AFP
Poland, a European Union nation with a lengthy Ukraine border, was the major first stop for people leaving the war zone.
From there, in theory, refugees were able to move into other countries for longer stays as the EU tried to operate an open-doors policy.
The UK, now outside the EU, was criticised for having a slow, restrictive and sometimes chaotic refugee policy.
In April, sponsors said more than 800 Ukrainian refugees were forced to wait several weeks to enter the UK under the Homes for Ukraine programme.
The programme was branded “heartless and inhumane” by Angela Le Roux, who is sponsoring a Ukrainian family in Britain.
Ms Le Roux said she had been reduced to tears by “rude” government officials.
Other incidents faced by Ukrainians attempting to come to the UK have included a child’s passport expiring before he received his visa, which required him to begin his application process again.
Refugees, sponsors and even Home Office employees drafted in to work on the Homes for Ukraine project have complained of confusion and of the programme's slow pace.
As of April 18, only 6,600 Ukrainians had arrived in Britain in the first five weeks of the sponsorship initiative.
