Revealed: Desperate Ukrainians resorting to illegal routes and ‘rogue advisers’ to bring children to UK
Revealed: Desperate Ukrainians resorting to illegal routes and ‘rogue advisers’ to bring children to UK
Share:
Exclusive: Mother forced to bring children to UK illegally urges Starmer to ensure families can be reunited. Desperate Ukrainian families are resorting to illegal routes and “rogue advisers” to bring their children to Britain after “catastrophic” changes to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, ministers have been told.
![[Rishi Sunak’s administration changed the Ukraine sponsorship rules without warning in February 2024]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/24/17/Ukrainian-refugees-falling-victim-Indycomp-copy.jpg)
The government, which has vowed “ironclad” support for Ukrainians, has been warned repeatedly since taking office that changes to the Ukrainian sponsorship schemes – made overnight last February by the Tory administration – are preventing children from joining their parents in the UK.
![[Settled wrote to home secretary Yvette Cooper this week to warn about the difficulties facing Ukrainian families]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/13/2194507663.jpg)
This has now created the “inevitable” situation in which families are resorting to bringing children to the UK via irregular routes, leaving them at risk of exploitation by criminals and people traffickers, a charity supporting Ukrainians told the home secretary this week.
![[Sir Keir Starmer visited Kyiv last week and signed a new 100-year partnership deal with Ukraine to support the country and its people]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/24/16/Russia_Ukraine_War_Security_Guarantees_87049.jpg)
Speaking to The Independent, one Ukrainian mother said she was left with no choice but to bring her children from Ukraine illegally after their carer grandparent fell ill, and urged the government to change course to allow families to reunite in safety.
Her call was backed by Labour peer Lord Alf Dubs, who arrived in the UK as a six-year-old fleeing the Nazis. “The basic right should surely be if you have got children somewhere they should be able to join their parents,” he said. Having previously warned that the current situation “betrays our commitment to Ukrainians”, Lord Dubs said it was not right that families were being put in such a position, adding: “I don’t believe this is what the government wants to happen.”.
