Despite the ongoing full-scale war, Ukrainians in the United Kingdom are increasingly being denied asylum. According to The Guardian, the basis for the refusal is often the assessment of the British Home Office, according to which it is “safe” to return to Ukraine or “possible to move to a safer region of the country.”
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Sterling Law, a law firm working with Ukrainian refugees, reports weekly cases of refusals, particularly involving vulnerable women and children. According to lawyer Galina Semchak, she is representing a single mother from the almost destroyed city of Nikopol, a visually impaired man, and the parents of a child born in the UK.
In its refusals, the British Home Office refers to instructions updated in January that recognise the regions of Kyiv and western Ukraine as “generally safe”. Officials also point out that applicants can contact local organisations or the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for assistance.
According to the latest official data, only 47 Ukrainians have been granted refugee status since 2023, with another 724 receiving humanitarian protection. The British Home Office claims that “no one who is in serious danger will be forcibly returned.”
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