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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Ben Quinn and Rajeev Syal

Closure of UK family scheme for Ukrainians described as ‘cruel’ move

Demonstrators waving Ukrainian national flags during a protest march in central London in March 2022.
A solidarity protest in London in 2022. More than 200,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK since March 2022, with the first visas due to expire in March next year. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

A scheme allowing Ukrainians to join family members taking sanctuary in the UK has been unexpectedly closed, in what opposition politicians described as a cruel and “below the radar” move days before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full invasion.

The Ukraine family scheme is being shut but government officials said a separate Homes for Ukraine scheme would continue to fulfil people’s needs as a way of “simplifying” the process.

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