Home Office U-turn allows Ukrainian refugees to bring children to UK after families separated

Rishi Sunak’s administration changed the Ukraine sponsorship rules without warning in February 2024 - (iStock/Getty)

The Home Office has reversed “catastrophic” changes to the Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme to ensure that children can now join their parents in the UK, after The Independent highlighted instances of families being separated.

While Britain has offered sanctuary to nearly 300,000 Ukrainians after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, changes to the rules issued overnight last February by the Tory government have prevented some parents from bringing their children to the UK.