What UK immigration routes can Ukraine refugees and their employers, family and friends use?

UPDATED 26 November 2024:

• The temporary nature of the Ukraine schemes is cemented in today’s Statement of Changes to the UK’s Immigration Rules with a new Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme allowing extensions of permission to stay of 18 months opening on 4 February 2025. (It will be open for anyone on a Ukraine Scheme, their children born in the UK and those who switched to other UK immigration routes.)
• The open-ended permission to travel (PTT) letters issued to early arrivals from Ukraine will be phased out by 13 February 2025.
• The Immigration Rules confirm that the Ukraine Schemes will not count towards the ten-year Long Residence route to British settlement. Those who may want to settle in the UK may want to switch to other UK visas which can lead to settlement.
• The Ukraine Family Scheme shut with immediate effect to new applicants on 19 February 2024.
• Those seeking to come to the UK can still consider the Homes for Ukraine scheme – though only those with British or Irish citizenship, settled status or ILR can sponsor a Ukrainian under the Homes for Ukraine rules, not other Ukrainians without such status. Permission granted to all new applicants, including eligible minors, has been halved from 36 months to 18 months.
• Children born in the UK to those who hold permission under the Ukraine Scheme will be eligible to apply for permission under the Ukraine Extension Scheme beyond its closure on 16 May 2024.

Many firms as well as concerned individuals have been asking what they can do to help Ukrainian friends, family, employees, as well as refugees from the conflict in Ukraine in general. Below is a summary of the current options for Ukrainians seeking sanctuary in the UK. There are links to Home Office guidelines which have been regularly updated and are worth checking for further details.

Please feel free to share this FAQ and contact us if you have any further questions at enquiries@vanessaganguin.com .

What are the UK’s Ukraine schemes set up during the conflict?

There have been different bespoke UK immigration Ukraine Schemes in place for those who wish to either come to or remain in the UK:

• Ukraine Family Scheme – this first route was set up for those who have family settled in the UK. It closed on 19 February, 2024.
• Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) – for those applying to be sponsored by a UK household.
• Ukraine Extension Scheme – Ukrainians and their family members if they are in the UK could apply to stay under this scheme up to 16 May 2024 when it closed. Children born in the UK to those who hold permission under the Ukraine Scheme (including the now closed Ukraine Family Scheme) may continue to apply until the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme replaces this on 4 February 2025.
• Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme – Those with permission to remain under one of the above Ukraine schemes with a valid visa to remain in the UK will be able to apply for free to remain in the UK for another 18 months and continue to access the same work, benefits, healthcare and education rights they currently can. This may also include those who previously had permission to remain under one of the Ukraine schemes and now hold another valid visa to remain in the UK, as well as children born in the UK to parents with Ukraine Scheme permission. Applications will open from 9am on 4 February 2025.

Do Ukrainians need to apply for a visa before coming to the UK?

Ukraine nationals cannot travel to the UK visa-free. Visas to the UK involve an online application (see below) as well as giving biometric details.

What has happened to the Ukraine Family Scheme?

This first route was set up for those who have family settled in the UK. It closed on 19 February, 2024. Free, fast-track Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS) visas for up to three years were available to Ukrainians (and their family members if they apply) with a family member who is a British national, someone settled in the UK, someone with leave granted in the UK as a refugee or humanitarian protection, or an EEA/Swiss citizen with pre-settled status (though not Ukrainians in the UK on more temporary status, eg: work visas).

Applications have now closed. The UK government’s rationale is that the same Ukrainian nationals who qualify under UFS can qualify under the Homes For Ukraine (HFU) if their family member is approved as a sponsor and they meet the other requirements of the rules. However, only those with British or Irish citizenship or settled status or Indefinite Leave to Remain can now sponsor a Ukrainian person under the HFU. Previously, a sponsor only needed to hold at least six months’ permission to stay in the UK from the date of the visa application – so that would have meant many Ukrainians in the UK could sponsor family wanting to join them. Having sponsors in the UK, the Home Secretary argues, will lead to a reduced risk of homelessness and reliance on emergency support provided by British local authorities.

Some people who would have been eligible to apply to the UFS – such as third country nationals who are not an immediate family member of a Ukrainian national, or who are an immediate family member but are not accompanying or joining their Ukrainian national family member in the UK – may not be eligible to apply to the HFU.

Those who already have permission to enter or stay in the UK under the UFS will continue to hold that permission for the duration granted despite the closure of the scheme to new applicants. They are able to work, study, have access to government funds and make extend permission in the UK via the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme – see below.

How does the Homes for Ukraine scheme work?

Ukrainian nationals and immediate family (who do not need to be Ukrainian themselves) resident in Ukraine prior to 1 January 2022 who are not in the UK may qualify under the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Sponsorship Scheme – also known as the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme – if they have an approved sponsor (see below) who will provide them with accommodation for at least six months.

A child who is not applying with, or intending to join, their parent or legal guardian in the UK must have an approved sponsor who was approved for the child by a local authority before the application is made, and must have agreed to accommodate the child for at least 18 months or until the child is 18 years old (whichever is soonest), so long as the child is sponsored for at least six months.

Previously, sponsors were able to be of any nationality, with any immigration status, provided they had at least six months’ leave to remain in the UK. But the Home Office tightened its eligibility guidance on 19 February at the same time as scrapping the Ukraine Family Scheme. (Full guidance for sponsors can be found here.) This limits eligible sponsors to over 18’s based in the UK who are “British or Irish Citizen or settled in the UK (which means having the right to live in the UK permanently) on the date of the guest’s visa application.”

Leave to remain has been halved from 36 to 18 months maximum. Those on the scheme will be able to work, access healthcare, welfare benefits, employment support, education and English language tuition.

There is no limit to the amount of people that can apply to the scheme. Applications are free. This is the UK Government guidance for applying for a visa under the scheme which has fuller details for applications and is regularly updated.

Who is eligible to the Ukraine Extension Scheme and how does it work?

Ukrainians in the UK can no longer apply to stay under the Ukraine Extension Scheme (UES) which closed on 16 May 2024 – only children born in the UK to parents on the scheme may still apply, until it is replaced by the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme at 9am on 4 February 2024. They should be granted permission to stay in the UK that is aligned with their parents.

Applicants do not need a sponsor in the UK for this route and those eligible can apply here. Applications are free and there is no need to pay the immigration health surcharge or biometric enrolment fee.

What is the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme?

The UK Government has announced a Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme: those with valid permission to be in the UK under one of the Ukraine Schemes, including those who may have switched from these onto another valid visa, should be able to apply for a further 18 months permission to stay in the UK under the new Ukraine Permission Extension scheme which opens on 4 February 2025. The UK government has said that they should only make an application to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme from when their current permission has 28 days or less remaining until it expires. More information about the new scheme can be found here.

Do any of the Ukraine Schemes lead to settlement in the UK?

No. Time spent in the UK on Ukraine Schemes does not count towards the ten-year Long Residence path to settlement. However, it is possible to apply for and switch into other visas that do eventually lead to permanent settlement in the UK. – See next question, below.

What other immigration options are there for Ukrainian nationals already in the UK?

Ukrainian nationals already in the UK on an Ukraine Scheme or work or study visa should be able to extend or switch to different visas without having to leave the country. Ukrainian nationals on an existing visitor visa can exceptionally switch into a points-based immigration system route without having to leave the UK if they cannot return to Ukraine.

They must meet the requirements of the immigration route they are applying for. Please contact us on 0207 033 9527 or enquiries@vanessaganguin.com if in doubt. The Home Office announced a concession acknowledging that applicants for work or study visas in Ukraine may be unable to provide certain documents. Instead a letter explaining why particular documents may not be available may be sufficient. An example given in the concession is an institution they would need a document from not functioning fully.

Seasonal workers must continue working in a job permitted by the Seasonal Worker route, with the same Scheme Operator (sponsor). They may be eligible to make an application under other immigration routes before their visa expires, or at the very least apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme when it starts.

Seasonal Worker visas do not lead to settlement. But there are other UK immigration routes that do. These include: Skilled Workers and their dependant family; Scale-up workers and their dependants; partners of a British citizen or settled person under the family rules, those on a Global Talent visa and their dependants, Innovator Founders and dependants, Sportspersons and dependants, Ministers of religion and dependants.

Ukrainians can apply for Student visas. Unlike the routes just mentioned time spent under a student visa does count towards the longer ten year route to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, rather than five years.

Can Ukrainians be sponsored under work and study visas?

Before making an application for a sponsored work or study visa under regular rules, applicants first need to have sponsorship from a UK-based organisation licensed to sponsor visas. The visa must normally be obtained outside the UK, although Ukrainians already in the UK may be able to apply to switch categories as mentioned above.

UK employers can sponsor Ukrainians on work visas such as: Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker route, T2 Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Scale-up worker, or Temporary sponsored roles such as Charity Worker, Creative Worker, Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier, Secondment Worker, Government Authorised Exchange, International Agreement, Religious Worker and Seasonal Worker.  All such visas have their own individual requirements, such as job offers in the UK, minimum salary or skill levels, level of study or English language ability. You can contact us to discuss these on 0207 033 9527 or at enquiries@vanessaganguin.com.

Sponsored work and business immigration routes have a “genuineness” requirement: i.e. whether the position genuinely exists, or is being used solely for the purpose of the applicant entering the UK. So whether the situation in Ukraine is a driving factor, there should always be a genuine vacancy.

Other work visas which do not require an employer to have a sponsor licence are also available, including the Innovator Founder, High Potential Individual and Global Talent, though there are other requirements such as endorsement by an approved specialist body.

What are the Right to Work check rules for employing Ukraine nationals granted permission under the Homes for Ukraine or Ukraine Family Scheme?

Please contact us on 0207 033 9527 or enquiries@vanessaganguin.com  for a fuller explanation of any of the eventualities outlined below or if you are not sure.

Ukrainians with a valid Ukrainian Passport

A concession to the Ukraine Schemes introduced on 15 March 2022 allowed those with a valid Ukraine passport to submit an application to either Scheme without attending an overseas Visa Application Centre (VAC) to submit biometrics. Those assessed without submitting their biometrics were issued with a permission to travel letter. On arrival, Border Force stamped the passport with permission to enter the UK, valid for six months with no restrictions on taking employment or recourse to public funds (Leave Outside the Rules or “LOTR”). This is called a Code 1A or Amended Code 1 endorsement.  In a few cases, if a Code 1A was not available, in place of this a Code 1 was used with the “no recourse to public funds” scored out in ink and possibly initialled by the Officer. Similarly, if someone had entry stamps to Ireland from 25 February 2022 the stamps were manually amended from ‘Leave to enter’ to ‘Leave to remain’ possibly with the Officer’s initials. If someone has an Irish entry stamp in their passport but does not have a Code 1/Code 1A stamp and does not hold any other form of permission to stay in the UK, you must point them to the Home Office to make an application to stay in the UK. On page 70 of the Home Office Right to Work guidance here you can see an example of endorsed Code 1A and Code 1 stamps with an Immigration Officer’s date stamp.

Those with a stamp or a visa in their valid Ukrainian passport which gives permission to stay under the Ukrainian Schemes, have a time-limited right to work. An employer should check this document, record it correctly and carry out a follow-up check when their permission is due to end (see our employers’ guide to Right to Work checks or contact us for a fuller explanation).

Where Border Force have granted LOTR for six months, Ukrainians should have obtained a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) endorsed with permission to stay up to 36-months. This can be done at any point during the six-months validity of the stamp. As with all BRP holders, they use the Home Office online checking service to prove their right to work in the UK.

The March 2022 concession ended on 7 December 2023, after which the usual rules apply to most Ukrainians who will have a Biometric Residence Permit or will be transitioning to digital status.

Ukrainian nationals who do not have a valid Ukrainian passport

Those without a valid Ukrainian passport are required to provide biometric details at a VAC and are provided with an entry clearance vignette attached to a ‘Form for Affixing the Visa’ (“FAV”). Where necessary, individuals can use their FAV document as proof of their right to work, in conjunction with confirmation from the Home Office Employer Checking Service in the form of a Positive Verification Notice (see our employers’ guide to Right to Work checks or contact us for a fuller explanation).

Shortly after arrival, a BRP is available for collection, and this can be used to access the Home Office online checking tool to prove a right to work. This means, once they have collected their BRP employers are not required to make a check with the Employer Checking Service. Where employers contact the Employer Checking Service and Home Office systems show that the individual has a BRP available, employers will receive a response from the Employer Checking Service directing them to advise the individual to collect their BRP and prove their right to work using the Home Office online checking service. In this scenario Employer Checking Service will not issue a Positive Verification Notice to provide a statutory excuse and employers should use the online checking service (see our employers’ guide to Right to Work checks or contact us on 0207 033 9527 or enquiries@vanessaganguin.com for a fuller explanation).

Should Ukrainians apply for asylum or humanitarian protection?

If there are no better immigration options, people from Ukraine can apply for asylum if they have a well-founded fear of persecution or are at general risk of serious harm. If successful, they would be granted refugee status or humanitarian protection and hundreds have during the current conflict, though the vast majority of Ukrainians use other easier and faster UK immigration routes.

Asylum seekers cannot actually apply for asylum outside the UK or obtain a visa for the specific purpose of claiming asylum which makes claiming asylum from outside the UK generally impossible in most cases. People already in the UK can apply for asylum. Arguments on the grounds of well-founded fears of persecution or serious harm may be open to dissidents from Belarus or Russia as well as Ukraine.

What should Ukraine nationals arriving with children do regarding schools and childcare?

Parents arriving with children between the ages of four and 16 should apply for a school place via the local council they will be living in – which can be found here. The council can advise on which schools still have places and how to apply for an “in-year admission.”

They can also get help paying for childcare, for example nursery or childminder fees, and can claim Child Benefit.

What should Ukrainians coming to the UK with pets do?

How else can organisations help Ukrainian refugees?

• Remote Ukraine matches displaced Ukrainian talent with remote and in-person vacancies.
• Ukraine is home to 250,000 software developers whose families depend on their income. Ukraine tech collective is a platform built to provide “kind of an NGO version of maternity cover,” by companies and individuals for many of these developers now fighting to defend their country.
• HR For Ukraine is a collaborative collection of HR resources to support workers in Ukraine, as well as Belarus and Russia from relocation support to financial support for those still in country.
• Jobs for Ukraine is collating academic, scientific, arts, professional and freelance jobs for refugees.
• Reset Communities and Refugees is helping match refugees applying to the Homes 4 Ukraine scheme with sponsors across the UK.
• As are the volunteers at Homes4Ukraine.org.
• More Government information on working, claiming benefits, access to healthcare, driving and other hurdles to negotiate on arrival can be found here.