Visa Uncertainty Putting Ukrainian Refugees At Risk Of Homelessness And Unemployment
Supporters of Ukraine staged a rally outside Downing Street earlier this month (Alamy)
6 min read
Thousands of Ukrainian refugees in the UK are struggling to keep jobs and housing due to uncertainty around the Ukraine visa extension scheme, according to new research.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, around six million refugees have fled Ukraine to safety in other countries across Europe, with approximately 218,600 Ukraine Scheme visa holders travelling to the UK.
The Ukraine Scheme visa lasts three years, so thousands of these Ukrainians are now having to apply for the new Ukraine Permission Extension scheme, with applications having opened on 4 February 2025.
However, as they could not apply for the scheme prior to this date, the gap between being able to apply and receiving a decision has caused widespread uncertainty and disruption, as many have been unable to prove to employers and landlords that they can stay in the UK beyond March.
A new survey of 1,133 Ukrainian refugees by a University of Birmingham research project, shared with PoliticsHome, has shown that this has led to many refugees struggling to find and keep accommodation and jobs, and therefore being at risk of homelessness and unemployment.
94 per cent of respondents said they definitely plan to request extensions to their visas, and 74 per cent have visas that are set to expire before July 2025.
The research showed that 39 per cent of all respondents had been affected by at least one issue related to difficulties proving the right to live and work in the UK beyond the expiration of the original Ukraine Scheme visa – across renting, jobs, loans, mortgages, benefits, and NHS appointments.
41 per cent said they lost a new job opportunity as a result of visa uncertainty, while 22 per cent said that a job contract was not renewed. 26 per cent said that their tenancy was not renewed and 24 per cent said that they could not sign a new tenancy.
Survey completed by 1,133 Ukrainians across the UK between 20 February and 7 March 2025 (University of Birmingham)
The uncertainty around the extension scheme has also led to some being subjected to extortionately hiked rents. One respondent said: "The agency used the imminent expiration of the visa, knowing that no one would sign a new lease for me, to raise the payment three times more than last year's amount and demanded to pay everything in advance.”
Ukrainian refugees also described the severe impact on their mental health, with 43.5 per cent suffering severe stress and anxiety caused by uncertainty about the future and the prolonged temporary status.
"I have stopped sleeping at night, I get very depressed and also have panic attacks as soon as I start thinking that I might not be able to extend my stay here for 18 months, just because the migration rules are changing,” one respondent said.
The majority – 58 per cent – of the survey respondents have school-aged children in the UK, and many have concerns about the impact of potential further displacement of their children’s wellbeing and education.
Following on from these findings, the research project recommended that the government grant an automatic extension of 18 months to all Ukraine Scheme visas, “avoiding the costly application process that is causing significant emotional and material harm”.
Dr Irina Kuznetsova, one of the researchers involved in the project, said: “We don't know whether there is enough capacity to work through all these applications in time.
“It would be crucial to make these changes urgently now and provide automatic extensions.”
Labour MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Emily Thornberry told PoliticsHome that she shared concerns about the Home Office’s ability to process applications in time.
“It's really horrible to hear that, I'm really sorry to hear that it's happening,” she said.
“I wish I was surprised. I have a very large number of people who come to see me about problems with the Home Office, which has, throughout my 20 years of being an MP, been dreadful at processing these sorts of applications. Shockingly so, shamefully so.
“It's not fair. It reflects really badly on us as a country that we treat you like this. I just don't understand why we just have never resourced [the Home Office] properly. It just never seems to have been properly functional.”
She added that many of these negative impacts do apply to “everybody” on temporary visas in the UK, and that often refugees on other visa schemes are treated even worse.
The report also highlights another potential challenge for the Labour government as it considers the long-term future of Ukrainians in the UK. Office for National Statistics data shows that 68 per cent of Ukrainians in the UK said they would prefer to remain in the UK, even if it were “safe” to return to Ukraine.
Approximately 13 per cent of the total housing stock in Ukraine has been damaged during the war, according to a recent United Nations report, and 26 per cent of the survey respondents who own property in Ukraine said that it has been damaged, destroyed or seized.
In addition, 27 per cent of these Ukrainians are from territories currently occupied by Russia, raising the question as to whether it would be possible for thousands of Ukrainians to return after a ceasefire if Russia continues to hold those territories.
“There is nowhere to return, and I need to start all over again,” one respondent said.
Kuznetsova added that if a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine, a lot of money and international collaboration will be needed in order to rebuild Ukraine and allow people to return. The fact that the UK is making cuts to international aid programmes in order to fund an increase in defence spending, in her view, will make that “more and more challenging”.
In November 2024, the government announced that the three years or more that Ukraine Scheme visa holders have spent in the UK would not count towards the five or ten year routes to permanent residency.
Ukrainians are the only national group excluded from the ten year route, and the only humanitarian scheme not to include the right to settle after five years. The report, carried out by academics, called for this to be changed, stating that Ukraine Scheme visa holders should be given the right to settlement after five years, as for all other humanitarian routes.
A government spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to supporting Ukraine in its fight against Putin’s illegal war, while also providing a safe and secure haven for those fleeing the conflict. We have offered or extended sanctuary to over 300,000 Ukrainians and their families.
“The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme continues to provide certainty and security for Ukrainians, allowing those with permission to remain in the United Kingdom under one of the existing Ukraine schemes to apply for a further 18 months. Given the unpredictable nature of this conflict, we continue to keep our Ukraine schemes under review.”
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