UK rejects asylum for Ukrainians citing safe return zones
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Ukrainian refugees in the UK are being denied asylum as the Home Office deems parts of Ukraine safe.
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Ukrainian orphans are seen during a stopover in Warsaw as they are en route to the UK, in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday March 21, 2022. (AP)
The Guardian on Friday reported that Ukrainians who escaped the war and sought refuge in the United Kingdom are now facing rejections from the Home Office in their asylum claims. British immigration authorities are increasingly concluding that it is safe for these individuals to return to their country of origin.
Families impacted by this approach are seeking pathways to permanent residency in the UK, hoping to provide stability for their children's education, employment opportunities, and access to secure housing. Many say that returning is not an option, as they come from towns that have been razed by the war and lack functioning infrastructure or public services.
One Ukrainian applicant told The Guardian that their asylum claim was rejected because officials determined they could simply relocate elsewhere within Ukraine, despite the fact that their home region remains an active war zone.
Sterling Law, a London-based immigration firm, reported it is contacted weekly by Ukrainian nationals, many of them women and children, whose asylum requests have been refused. The firm is currently pursuing several appeals. However, legal experts warn that these cases often take months to resolve, leaving applicants in a state of prolonged uncertainty and psychological distress.
At present, Ukrainian nationals benefit from a temporary visa scheme that allows them to stay in the UK for 18 months. But without a pathway to settlement, many are experiencing profound anxiety about their futures. A recent report by PoliticsHome revealed that nearly 40% of Ukrainians under this scheme have struggled to prove their right to work or rent, with some losing job offers or housing due to visa-related delays.
The rollout of the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme earlier this year has not resolved the confusion for many.
Rare for claims to succeed
Halyna Semchak, an immigration lawyer with Sterling Law, said she is currently representing a single mother from the city of Nikopol, a visually impaired man, and the parent of a child born in the UK. According to Semchak, many of the refusal letters her clients receive argue that the dangers in Ukraine do not meet the legal threshold for protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention. These decisions often cite the supposed safety of areas such as Kiev or western Ukraine and recommend that individuals turn to UNHCR or local organizations for support.
She described this as a "concerning and growing trend," stemming from changes introduced in January to the Home Office's country policy guidance, which now classifies parts of Ukraine as generally safe. Since then, Semchak noted, it has become increasingly rare for Ukrainian asylum claims to succeed.
Read more: Ukrainian refugees increasingly face homelessness, exploitation in UK
"Legally, these decisions are deeply troubling. They overlook the complex realities on the ground and fail to engage meaningfully with individual circumstances, particularly in light of article 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights [which protect the rights to protection from harm and to liberty]."
Semchak called on the UK government to urgently revise its guidance, arguing that until such steps are taken, "people fleeing war and instability will continue to be let down by a system that purports to protect them."
Read more: Homelessness reaches record highs among Ukrainians at home, abroad
Precarious Sanctuary
Policy experts have echoed these concerns. Kama Petruczenko, a senior analyst at the Refugee Council, said the current Ukraine guidance "is not currently flexible enough to best reflect the difficulties in quickly assessing regional safety in every single application."
Recent Home Office statistics show that since 2023, only 47 Ukrainian asylum seekers have been granted refugee status, with 724 receiving humanitarian protection. This comes amid wider criticisms of the UK's immigration and asylum system, which faces a backlog of tens of thousands of cases and declining approval rates.
In the meantime, as Ukrainians wait in legal and emotional limbo, their future in the UK remains uncertain, despite their desire to rebuild their lives in safety. Many now fear that the British system, once seen as a refuge, may no longer offer the protection they hoped for.
A spokesperson for the Home Office defended the government's approach, "Since Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion, we have offered or extended sanctuary to over 300,000 Ukrainians, and the Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open. All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. No one who is found to be at risk of serious harm will be expected to return to Ukraine."
