UK: Anything less than a full visa waiver for Ukrainian refugees should be 'binned'

New scheme to enter the UK is still extremely narrow

Only those with indefinite leave to remain or citizenship in the UK can sponsor people

Refugees still required to provide birth certificates, proof of relationships and residence

In response to Home Secretary Priti Patel’s announcement that strict visa rules for Ukrainian refugees are to be amended, Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s CEO, said:

“This is still not good enough and anything less than a full visa waiver for Ukrainian refugees ought to be binned.

“Even under this new scheme, the grounds for entering the UK are still extremely narrow.

“The process is still full of red tape, with desperate and exhausted people still being required to provide birth certificates, proof of relationships and residence, and with everything still needing to be translated into English.

"The Government should immediately wave visa requirements, which many other European countries did more than a week ago.

“It’s too little too late and is yet more evidence of the Home Office’s corrosively anti-refugee attitude.”