Ukraine conflict: Britain is turning away displaced Ukrainians

Through March 7, Britain had only issued about 50 visas for displaced Ukrainians.

About 1 million of the 2 million people who have left Ukraine have arrived in Poland first.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to be seeking a prominent role in the international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine — at least within the media. Over the weekend, Johsnson suggested a six-point plan covering the delivery of humanitarian aid, solidarity with Ukraine's government and punitive measures for Russia. One thing missing from Johnson's plan was how the United Kingdom would accommodate people displaced from Ukraine.

Also over the weekend, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote a testy letter to his U.K. counterpart, Home Secretary Priti Patel, after hundreds of displaced Ukrainians had become stranded in the city of Calais with no legal means of reaching the United Kingdom. Officers for the U.K. Border Agency had told Ukrainians that they would first need to apply for visas at the nearest British consulate before they could continue their journeys.

In his letter to Patel, Darmanin wrote that Britain's response to displaced people shows a "lack of humanity." About 600 Ukrainians are now in Calais, with at least 150 of them told that they would have to go to the nearest British embassies — in Brussels, 200 kilometers (120 miles) east, or Paris, 300 kilometers south — before attempting to enter the United Kingdom. "It is essential that a consular presence on the border be especially established for the duration of this crisis to issue immediate visas for family reunification," Darmamin wrote.

Calais, in the far north of France, is a common spot for migrants to gather in the hopes of reaching Britain by boat. Darmamin's letter to Patel comes just months after U.K. officials claimed that their French counterparts were not doing enough to clamp down on the smugglers who make such journeys possible. France's government responded by noting that there are very few ways for people to legally travel to Britain to make asylum claims.

Enver Solomon, the chief executive officer of Britain's Refugee Council, had clear words for the government's treatment of displaced Ukrainians so far. "If this is what's happening in Calais, it is appalling and shows a disturbing lack of compassion," Solomon said. "It shows the hostile environment of our asylum system."

'Only small numbers'

At least 2 million people have fled Ukraine, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency — mostly children, women and older people. About 1 million of them have initially gone to Poland, which neighbors Ukraine to the west; 200,000 have headed east to Moldova; and 50,000 people have formerly registered their arrival as refugees in Germany, though the number could be much higher, as there is no obligation to immediately register upon arrival in the country. The European Union is offering Ukrainians three years of protected status within member states, including work permits and health insurance.

Britain's policies, which are largely limited to family reunification, seem stingy in comparison. With only about 18,000 Ukrainians living in the United Kingdom, the number of people eligible to apply for protection is already limited. Through March 7, Britain had only issued about 50 visas for displaced Ukrainians.

"We have processes in place whereby people with families in the U.K. — and, indeed, those without families in the U.K. — can come to the U.K.," European Neighbourhood and Americas Minister James Cleverly told the broadcaster Sky News on March 7. "You say that only small numbers have come so far, and I would remind you that the process has only just started, and the vast majority of people are still in the countries neighboring Ukraine. That is where we are providing the support initially because that is where the problem currently is. We want to help these people, whether they be in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, where a large number of people currently are, but also want to help them when they come to the U.K."

Tories fighting Tories

The ruling Conservatives found their party in disarray on March 7. "I am now exploring the legal options to create a humanitarian route," Patel told the Tory-aligned daily tabloid The Sun after returning from a trip to Ukraine's border. "This means anyone without ties to the U.K. fleeing the conflict in Ukraine will have a right to come to this nation."

Johnson seemed to contradict his home secretary on television. "What we won't do is have a system where people can come into the U.K. without any checks or any controls at all," he said on March 7. "But what we will do is have a system that is very, very generous." His spokesperson followed that up with a briefing on March 8, at which it was further affirmed that Ukrainians could only go to Britain if the had close relatives there or someone who was willing to sponsor them.

Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chair of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee, appeared to have yet a third take. Britain's policy toward displaced Ukrainians is "certainly not a success," Tugendhat told LBC Radio on the question of taking in Ukrainian refugees: "What we need to do is to make sure that we get the Home Office absolutely delivering to make sure that we get the support for those who are most in need."

The opposition Labour Party is offering its own criticism of Britain's failure to accommodate people displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Many families still aren't included in the Home Secretary's scheme, and there is no way yet for people to join friends here," Yvette Cooper, a Labour deputy and the shadow home secretary, wrote in a column published on March 8 by the daily newspaper The Mirror . "Home Office bureaucracy is slowing everything down. The families I've heard from are tired and desperate."