HOME Secretary Priti Patel could face legal action over delays to visas which have left hundreds of Ukrainian refugees waiting weeks to come to the UK.
A class action lawsuit is being prepared over “inordinate and unreasonable delays” in processing hundreds of visa applications made in March.
Figures compiled by would-be hosts show there were at least 800 Ukrainian refugees still waiting last week for visas after applying within the first two weeks of the scheme opening.
Examples of cases include a Ukrainian mother and her daughter, aged under 10, who applied for their visas around five weeks ago.
The mother received her visa on April 18 but the little girl is still waiting.
The groups behind the action, Vigil 4 Visas and Taking Action Over the Homes for Ukraine Visa Delays, say the delays have put people in Ukraine and border countries at risk, and heaped “considerable pressure and strain” on UK hosts.
Lawyers for the groups are planning to send a pre-action protocol letter to the Home Office this week asking it to “sort out the endless muddles and tangles”.
They could then apply for a judicial review of the UK Government’s visa-processing policy.
Katherine Klinger, who has helped organise vigils outside the Home Office over the past week, said: “Perhaps the most striking thing I’ve noticed is the utter despair, shame and sense of responsibility so many hosts report.
“Hosts are in tears sometimes when they report to us what has happened in the past six weeks – dozens of emails, phone calls, letters, trips to the Home Office, MPs’ involvement etc – it’s very humbling.”
The groups are due to launch an online crowdfunder on Tuesday morning to raise up to £15,000 to help pay for the legal costs.
Stuart McDonald, SNP home affairs spokesperson, said Patel had to answer for massive delays "compounding the fears and trauma faced by those seeking refuge from war and terror."
"Unecessary Home Office red-tape is doing nothing but leaving refugees in the dark over their applications - it's no coincidence the EU nations who've waived visa requirements have taken in many times more refugees than we currently have," he said.
"As it stands the Home Secretary is completely failing to deliver on the UK's humanitarian obligations, it would be unforgivable if this situation leads to refugees giving up and putting themselves in harm's way by going back to Ukraine.
"There is still time for the government to do the right thing and bring in visa-free access, it must be done as a matter of priority."
The legal letter will highlight ten cases of Ukrainians who are still waiting for their visas after applying during the days after the Homes for Ukraine scheme first opened on March 18.
The action is being prepared by Amanda Jones, an immigration and public law barrister, and follows a previous successful individual challenge, the group said.
Jones challenged the UK Government on behalf of a member of the Marlow Ukraine Collective, who had been waiting more than a month to bring the family she is sponsoring to the UK.
Rebecca Lewis, a 44-year-old teacher from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, sought help after the mother she is sponsoring received her visa on April 9 but her children, aged four and five, were still waiting.
After Jones contacted the UK Government, within nine hours the family was told the remaining visas were ready, she said.
Jones said the judicial review would be brought on the grounds that the Home Office has a policy of delaying the March applications, and deciding later applications instead – or that the system is “so chaotic and unstable” that it is unreasonable.
She said: “A group of British citizens who responded to the call for generous people to sponsor Ukrainians for visas, host them for at least six months, and provide moral and emotional support under the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ programme are at their wits’ end.
“Hundreds of applications made on or before March 31 remain outstanding.
“Phone calls to the Home Office are a waste of time. MPs chasing the Home Office get contradictory and unhelpful replies.
“The Ukrainian applicants – the vast majority of whom are women and children – are running out of money, hope and support in Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and more. Many have no proper accommodation and are reliant on food donations.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “In response to Putin’s barbaric invasion we launched one of the fastest and biggest visa schemes in UK history. Over 86,000 visas have been issued so Ukrainians can live and work in the UK.
“The changes the Home Office has made to streamline the visa system, including simplifying the forms and boosting staff numbers, are working and we are now processing visas as quickly as they come in – enabling thousands more Ukrainians to come through our uncapped routes.”
