More than 500 Ukrainian children who fled the war without their parents are trapped waiting in limbo across Europe after applying for the Household Plan for Ukraine, say sources working closely with the Interior Ministry.
Most are teenagers who thought they would be eligible and have British families waiting to take them in, but have heard nothing from the Home Office.
Many have been waiting for two or more months unanswered due to indecision about how to handle their cases.
Some are alone in Europe after leaving home thinking that they will soon be joined by a British family who are willing to welcome them. Others are with older siblings or family friends who have been appointed legal guardians but are not yet allowed to come.
Some 25 unaccompanied children were able to enter Britain during the first two weeks of the Homes For Ukraine program and, as a result, ended up in foster care, according to sources.
Although the policy now says that children cannot travel without their parents unless they are with a legal guardian, the Ministry of the Interior has not been offering any decision or solution to all those who requested it before. to be established.
Even teenagers traveling with adults who have been appointed legal guardians by their parents are among those trapped in this situation.
Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, said: “Only this week did I express concerns in a letter to the immigration minister about the government’s policy on unaccompanied minors, but this latest information reflects the potential scale. of the problem.
“We understand that the government needs to carry out comprehensive safeguards, but there is a particular question as to why long delays are still occurring in cases where a parent has already completed the relevant documentation that allows his child be guarded by a relative ”.
Earlier this month, The Guardian told the story of 17-year-old Nazarii, who was listening to warplanes flying over her village in western Ukraine while awaiting a decision from the Interior Ministry. A teaching assistant and his family in Hampshire were willing to take him in, but he hadn’t heard anything since he applied on April 11th.
More than three weeks later, it is still in Ukraine without any refusal or update. “The Interior Ministry has not given me any information. I do not know what to do,” he said. “If it is a refusal, okay, but without any information it is impossible.”
Beth Gardiner-Smith, executive director of the Safe Passage refugee children’s charity, said: “We know too many children who are currently trapped in limbo, alone in Ukraine and neighboring countries, who are desperate to join the its sponsors here in the UK. Unacceptably, this is leaving children alone in dangerous and vulnerable positions, at risk of exploitation. “
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Gardiner-Smith said the government should expand the Houses Plan for Ukraine to include unaccompanied children working with local authorities and charities to ensure safeguarding.
Even those who have British hosts ready to take in children have made no decision. Among them is 16-year-old Timothy Tymoshenko, who is severely autistic and who, according to The Guardian, is still waiting in Poland to join a British host.
The situation is so critical that sources said it was the main cause of concern at the last weekly meeting of MPs’ offices with the Interior Ministry.
Krish Kandiah, founder of the Sanctuary Foundation, which supports British hosts on the Homes for Ukraine program, said: “It is disturbing to hear that unaccompanied minors who want to leave Ukraine for their own safety are waiting so long. to get visas when I know there are foster carers like my own family and other suitable hosts in the UK who are willing to look after them. “
A government spokesman said: “Due to safeguard concerns, unaccompanied minors are only eligible under the Homes for Ukraine program if they meet with a parent or legal guardian in the UK.
“The Ukrainian government has made it clear that its preference is that children should not be expelled from Ukraine without their parents and that moving a child from their region of origin should be in their best interests.”