The UK is the only European country to still require visas from Ukrainians fleeing war and seeking refuge in the country. And these visas are granted in dribs and drabs: the Home Office admitted, on Sunday March 6, that it had issued only 50 to Ukrainians trying to join their families in the United Kingdom, while at least 15,000 applications are in process. Classes ; on Monday, the number of visas granted had jumped to 300. Britain’s Ukrainian community is estimated at around 100,000.
The comparison with the openness of other European countries to refugees is striking. Poland has already taken in more than a million Ukrainians; Hungary, Moldavia, Romania and Germany also open their arms to them. As for the European Union, it granted them “temporary protection”a right of residence of at least one year, accompanied by substantial rights: they will be able to work, access to housing, the education system and medical care.
This lack of British generosity in the midst of a humanitarian crisis – the largest displacement of populations since the end of the Second World War according to the United Nations – is increasingly shocking the British, the political opposition to the government of Boris Johnson, and even members of his conservative party. “The UK is not doing enough for Ukrainian refugees,” Lamented the Scottish Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, Monday at the microphone of LBC.
The French Interior Minister, Gérard Darmanin, denounced on Sunday “lack of humanity” British authorities, while at least 150 Ukrainians were stranded in Calais this weekend, prevented from crossing the Channel because they did not have a visa. To obtain it, London continues to require that they present themselves – physically – to the British consulate in Paris or Brussels (after making an appointment online). Thursday March 3, Mr. Darmanin had however announced on France Inter that his British colleague, Priti Patel, was going “set up a sort of consulate” in Calais. Thursday evening, contacted by The worldthe Home Office denied, insisting that it “There is no center for applying for a visa in Calais. People should not come to Calais [pour cela] “.
A hotline set up
On Sunday, Ms Patel ruled “false” Mr. Darmanin’s accusations and on Monday, a Downing Street spokesman insisted: “A hotline has been set up for people who need help [le +44 808 164 8810, les appels sont gratuits], we have reinforced the teams in our consulates in countries adjacent to Ukraine and have opened two routes to come to the United Kingdom. » Hours later, adding to the confusion, Ms Patel first claimed in the House of Commons: “We have an office near Calais, but not on the port” before admitting that this office “not yet operational”.
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