A Ukranian family will finally be able to escape their war-torn hometown for a new life in Scotland – thanks to the Daily Record.
We told yesterday how Andy and Marie Kuzbyt’s efforts to bring nephew Yuri, nine, and sister Victoria, 14, to their home in Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, had been needlessly wrecked by Home Office red tape.
A visa application for Yuri had been approved by the Home Office after a tortuous process lasting almost a month.
But the visa was never received by the Kuzbyts and the Home Office refused to issue a new one.
The decision meant the family couldn’t leave for Scotland –condemning the children to life in an air raid bunker at their Lviv home.
But after the Record took up the case, the Home Office saw sense yesterday, sending the visa just minutes after their office opened.
Marie, 60, said: “We have been battling away for days on end but the Home Office has just fobbed us off.
“There’s no question that the Daily Record’s intervention sorted things out and Yuri and Victoria are very very grateful. They are both looking forward to getting to safety in Scotland.
“We are also overjoyed that our family members can now all come to Scotland, but it begs the question of why the Home Office refused to help until the Daily Record got involved.
“It seems obvious that they are happy to fob ordinary people off but they will change their tune in the face of bad press. The UK just doesn’t want to help Ukrainians to come to the UK.”
Marie and Andy will now travel to Krakow, in Poland, and meet up with Yuri and Victoria’s mum Natalia, who will hand the kids over.
Natalia is an English teacher and is staying in Ukraine for some time but hopes to join her children in coming months.
Marie and Andy became close to their Ukrainian family in recent years after taking several trips over to Lviv. Andy was born and brought up in Scotland after his own dad fled here to escape Hitler during World War II.
Marie said: “I will believe it when I see it and I can give the kids a hug – but it does look like we will get a happy outcome in the short term.
“Victoria texted to say she is excited about getting to her new home but she still has worries.
“We are aware that Natalia is very stressed about the rest of the family over in Ukraine and we all pray there will be an end to the war.
“But our case shows how difficult it is for any Ukrainian refugees to get into the UK, even when they have family here.
“Natalia started the visa process on the seventh of March – almost a month ago. It was impenetrable, impossible for her to complete.
“When I picked it up it took me literally a week to fill in the forms because there was so much duplication and several unclear categories to fill in.
“And then we were at the mercy of the Home Office, who sent out visas randomly. Natalia’s came a week before Victoria’s and then Yuri’s never came at all until the Record stepped in.
“The UK Government says all the right things but it’s not a fast track – it’s a slow track for anyone coming from Ukraine.”
Marie’s MP Alan Brown had taken up their case and was furious at the delays. He called for the Home Office to waive visa requirements for fleeing Ukrainians.
Brown said last night: “I am pleased Yuri’s visa has eventually been issued. This now means that the children can get to safety and this will be a welcome relief to the family.
“The next step is to push for the grandmother to join the family in Kilmarnock and Loudoun.
“However, it is a disgrace it has taken this amount of time to make this small bit of progress.
“The process started at the beginning of March and my office has worked tirelessly to try to push for decisions to be made.
“My office has been relentless in its attempts to get answers and it should not have taken these efforts along with the story being in the national press for any sort of progress.”
He added: “The news is welcome for my constituent’s family, but there are other families who are waiting an inordinate amount of time to get their visas.
“I dread to think of the tens of thousands still in this position. The UK Government must follow the rest of Europe and waive visa requirements to get Ukrainian refugees to safety.”
The UK Government has been slammed for the tiny number of Ukrainians offered refuge here.
It was revealed yesterday that just over 1000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion have arrived in the UK as the Government’s sponsorship scheme struggles to get off the ground.
More than 150,000 British families are believed to have registered their interest in housing desperate Ukrainians but are set to be disappointed.
With more than 20,000 visa applications submitted under the new Homes for Ukraine programme it means fewer than one in 10 applications has been approved.
A Government spokesman said: “We are moving as quickly as possible to ensure that those fleeing Ukraine can find safety in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine.
“We continue to speed up visa processing across both schemes, with 25,500 visas issued in the last three weeks alone and thousands more expected to come through these uncapped routes.”
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