Visa help- Ukraine

[VisaQuestions]

Please excuse the name change- I foresee this getting personal. I think MNHQ can verify me if need, but I hope not needed.

Does anyone have experience of opening visas for family no longer in their home country?

My adult step child is in Poland, having left in a hurry from Ukraine. Obviously I’m seeking advice from many quarters and will try to phone later directly.

I also have my own parents still in Ukraine who may leave.

I have the means and space to support them, and ideally obviously I’d like to bring them here. I’ve had a UK passport for over 10 years, my husband less but has one too now.

Urgent routes are best as they have no means or place to go now they’ve left home, they just went to the border. I’ve only ever opened visitor visas/ sent invites through Kyiv. Is it possible in a third country? They hold no other passports.

@Libertybear80

I apologise for those individuals who have made this situation harder for you by voting for Brexit. They are an embarrassment. Stay safe x

Wtf? I mean I'm happy to blame Brexit for most things but this is a bit of a reach!

* ideally obviously I’d like to bring them here. *

But do they want to?

If they can get into Poland they can go to the British consulate for visitor visas. Generally (no idea if it's relaxed due to the situation) you need to be able to prove you can support them as a sponsor or they have significant savings (or combination) calling the Warsaw consulate is the best option unless it's on the internet. I only know the procedure for citizens from Zimbabwe but it's not that different from country to country, hopefully it's expediated though

They do random checks between the ni and Scotland ferry. Not everyone is checked but its not uncommon for them to sometimes check who you are and your belongings.

@Libertybear80

I apologise for those individuals who have made this situation harder for you by voting for Brexit. They are an embarrassment. Stay safe x

Cripes it's crazy what remainers twist to make about themselves and bloody brexit.

@ThisIsGroundControl is it a reach though? Much easier for Ukrainians to access Ireland than here in the UK. That's a direct result of Brexit! Like it or not!

Ukraine isn’t in the EU - Brexit makes absolutely no difference here

@Libertybear80 wow! How ignorant. Like it or not brexit was voted for by the major that’s democracy for you ...it was what the majority wanted ...hey ho right or wrong result ...it’s how civilised countries do things...

You can’t blame everything on brexit

The short answer is they can’t get a UK visa unless they are your dependent. The UK government is being a dick and hasn’t crested any special immigration route, unlike Ireland which has now waived visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees. Hopefully this will change and UK will copy Ireland but it needs a lot of people townrite to their MPs and make a fuss demanding it.

I wish you and your family the best of luck and hope they reach UK.

Good luck OP I have been manning the visa helpline last week some very distressing stories. I talked to a Ukrainian girl who was 16 and asked me if she can get to Poland would she be able to get a visa without her parents there she reminded me a bit of my dd poor thing. I'm hoping the UK will soon do more to help.

@Fluffyflowerpot

Ukraine isn’t in the EU - Brexit makes absolutely no difference here

Ireland is accepting Ukrainians without visas. UK is not.

UK used to have an open border with Ireland.

Post-Brexit UK has a border with Ireland.

So, if we were still in the EU, Ukranian refugees could fly to Ireland then travel into UK no problem. Post-Brexit, they can still fly to Ireland, but may not be able to get into the UK from there.

Hopefully you get a solution OP. Brexit has happened good or bad and has wide spread implications no one could’ve ever envisaged Ukrainians having to flee ...just hope Russia stops this madness and people can live in peace so sad

[quote VisaQuestions]@OchonAgusOchonOh it’s getting hard to process things,
If you have info and the time a PM would be very much appreciated[/quote]
I'll make a few phone calls when things open on Monday and get back to you via pm.

Post-Brexit UK has a border with Ireland no it doesn't, because of the CTA.

In my ignorance I didn't even know Ukrainians needed a visa to visit the UK, I had assumed they could come for a short time without. The government should waive the visa requirements at present.

@Thewindwhispers - Post-Brexit UK has a border with Ireland.

Nope. There is no border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is still part of the UK. There is also the common travel area between Ireland and GB.

What this also shows is that the UK was always able to control its borders, as Ireland and the Netherlands have waived visa requirements for Ukrainians, independent of any moves by the EU/Schengen area (Ireland isn't in Schengen but the Netherlands is).

[quote VisaQuestions]@OchonAgusOchonOh it’s getting hard to process things,
If you have info and the time a PM would be very much appreciated[/quote]
I have sent you a pm with information from the embassy in Dublin.

If anyone else is in the same boat and needs information, I can post on here too.

The OP is right. It is better for them to stay in Poland for the time being and await the visa there. There are flights going to Poland from the UK if she wants to see them and if the OP needs to support them financially, then it is easier to do that if they are in Poland than if they are in Ireland. There's a lot of help in Poland organized by individuals / charities and the government for the Ukrainians (I'm Polish).

@MissMinutes24 - the op is obviously concerned about her family. This is really not the right thread for this sort of post.

There is no Visa required for any Ukrainians to enter Ireland but only for 90 days, they would need to apply to stay after that.
Just hope for their sakes that it won't be long-term need, so shocked and horrified at what is happening.

@lonelySam Fair play to Poland who are taking in so many thousands and thousands of people, along with Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Moldova. It is a huge undertaking even managing basic logistics and accommodations. Respect.

I can update Monday, they have an appointment ( quicker than normal).

Regarding Brexit I’m not emotional, may even wondering if some good. Maybe it’ll open the point based system so non EU people can settle. It means the UK can made independent decisions and help more, rather than wait for agreement. To be fair, they have been doing far more than Europe to help so far.

hi OP, I just read that the Ukrainians can now come to the UK if they have relatives living there. They can apply to the processing office in Lvov from outside Ukraine. There are restrictions though, they must be a spouse or a civil partner (or an unmarried partner of at least two years), children under age 18, a parent if their grandchild is under 18 and adult relatives who are carers (but not too sure to whom).

Info is on bbc.com