We Can Do More: Evaluating the UK’s Response to Those Fleeing Ukraine
‘A new war in Europe is a close reminder that anyone can become a refugee’ – Seb Klier, Parliamentary Manager at the Refugee Council
The UK Government’s response to Ukrainians fleeing their country is a conscientious commitment to an ideology piously hostile towards refugees and asylum-seekers. Initially resistant to opening any adequate routes to asylum, the government has resolutely maintained their stance on requiring visas for those escaping Putin’s aggression. Every other country in Europe has waived them.
The current administration has come to power off the back of Brexit, a decision predicated on ‘regaining control’ over UK borders. However, faced with vociferous public support in favour of welcoming Ukrainians, the government must now tip-toe a precarious political tight rope. How does one maintain the image of scrupulous control over immigration whilst affirmatively responding to overwhelming calls for compassion?
It appears to be a conundrum. But it actually does not have to be one. According to polling from the New Statesman/Redfield & Wilton, near-enough two thirds (64%) of the British public support visa-free entry for Ukrainian refugees. Significantly, this includes a majority opinion (58%) amongst Tory voters.
Two weeks after the invasion of Ukraine began, Boris Johnson emphasised the UK ‘will be as generous as we possibly can be.’ I’m hardly about to feign surprise over disingenuous rhetoric leaving the PM’s lips. That would neither be original nor worthwhile. However, the term generosity seems pertinent in evaluating the adequacy of the UK’s political response.
Upon even a cursory glance at the rest of Europe’s approach to the Ukrainians fleeing war, one could confidently ascertain the UK Government’s generosity has its limits. Neighbouring countries to Ukraine have accepted refugees in the millions whilst neighbouring countries to Britain have dropped bureaucratic procedures in exchange for empathetic policies rooted in humanitarianism. During the first three weeks of the invasion, Ireland welcomed more than 3 times as many Ukrainians as the UK. As in every other member state of the EU, these refugees arrived visa-free.
Moreover, the initial response from the Home Office was that Ukrainians were welcome to enter the UK so long as post-Brexit immigration requirements were met, such as being able to prove financial security and/or possessing skills which would enrich the labour market. Some Ukrainians have reported difficulties in providing bank statements due to their local branch now lying in a mass of rubble. Others perhaps remain marginally too traumatised to commit to work as seasonal fruit pickers, a proposal suggested by one Home Office minister.
Pic: Twitter
So, what are the options for Ukrainians hoping to enter the UK?
Public compassion has driven the multiple adjustments and U-turns seen in policy. The throngs of people who have taken to the street as well as an omnipresence across the media, both social and traditional, have twisted the government’s proverbial arm.
Two options have since been made available to people coming to the UK from Ukraine. At the beginning of March, the government launched the Ukraine Family Scheme, allowing entry to the country if they are relations of British nationals, those with indefinite leave to remain (intentionally obscure terminology, means having the right to stay in the UK for a limited period of time), settled status or proof of permanent residency. By 7th April, 28,500 visas had been issued under this scheme.
Three weeks after the invasion began, by which time over 1.5 million Ukrainians had travelled into Poland, the Home Office opened a ‘bespoke humanitarian route.’ Under the Home for Ukrainians scheme, private individuals and companies are able to accommodate those fleeing Ukraine whilst receiving financial support from the state. Within 24 hours of the scheme being launched, over 100,00 members of the public had signed up, another forthright demonstration of solidarity. However, as of 7th April a conspicuously meagre 12,500 visas had been issued by the Home Office.
Pic: Jordan Busson (Flickr)
Yes, the Home Office is a chronically underfunded and poorly-resourced department. Especially when held in comparison to the magnitude of task being demanded of it. Oppressive political regimes in countries such as Afghanistan and Hong Kong had already stretched its limited capabilities. However, the department’s incompetency is poignantly exacerbating the suffering endured by refugees fleeing Ukraine. This can in no small part be attributed to a latent hostility determined by the government towards asylum-seekers for well over a decade.
Nonetheless, the crux of the UK’s response to refugees fleeing Ukraine lies in an ideological aversion towards asylum-seekers. The primary association of refugees with representing a threat to society and individuals is a dehumanising misnomer, one which is commonly constructed through nationalistic narratives and delivered by populist solutions to globalisation. A fraction of those who have left their homes are attempting to reach the UK, yet this perpetuated misconception of refugees underpins the policies obfuscating and endangering their path to entry.
What would a more generous response look like?
Visa-requirements being waived, as EU nation states have done, sparing those fleeing war zones nebulous bureaucracy and further hardship.
A greater range of legal routes being made available to facilitate arrival in the UK, principally to share the influx being disproportionally and unsustainably bared by countries bordering Ukraine.
A systematic change in the way the UK processes asylum. Relying on the compassion of private individuals, as with schemes like Homes for Ukrainians and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, is not an adequate approach to a fundamentally societal phenomenon. An empathetic immigration system reoriented to place human beings and their experiences at the core would start to resemble generosity, a principle which ought to also be extended to those seeking refuge who come from beyond Europe’s borders.
Through geographical coincidence the UK Government hasn’t experienced sudden arrivals of large waves of refugees in recent years, in the way Poland, Lebanon and Columbia have. Does this physical isolation that comes from being an island nation absolve Britain of the humanitarian duty to provide refuge for those fleeing bloodshed and persecution? The UK Government’s notably differed response to other European countries signifies a belief in such exceptionalism. It also signifies an absence of generosity. The British public has shown it wants to do more. The government can do more.
For those interested in imagining a reformulated asylum architecture, take a look at this journal article by Lucy Mayblin, Professor at the University of Sheffield.
Written by Danny Callaghan
Hi! Having (relatively) recently graduated in Politics & German from the University of Leeds, I am now based in Berlin. I work for a social research institute and have also been teaching English to asylum-seekers in the UK since June 2020 with the Leeds Asylum-Seeker’s Support Network.
