Ukraine support

The priority for the Home Office is to support Ukrainian nationals and their family members. They are working at pace to process visa applications as quickly as possible.

The UK visa support for Ukrainian nationals page on GOV.UK is kept up to date with all the support and information for Ukrainian nationals and their family members. Please keep checking this page for up to date information.

The Ukraine Family Scheme allows family members of British nationals, UK settled persons and certain others to come to or stay in the UK. From 15 March, holders of a valid Ukrainian international passport (or expired Ukrainian international passport with an official extension stamp endorsed by the Ukrainian government – including embassies and consulates) who haven’t made an online application for Ukraine Family Scheme yet, will need to make an application but will not need to attend the visa application centre (VAC) to submit their biometrics provided they upload a copy of their valid Ukraine international passport (photograph page) on the TLS document upload app (or VFS document upload app if applying in location outside of Europe or Africa). If they can do this, they will be sent a permission letter to travel to the UK and biometrics will be taken once in the UK.

A Ukrainian Family Scheme factsheet is available on GOV.UK in English and Ukrainian.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme allows individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety including those with no family ties. Phase one of the scheme will allow sponsors in the UK to nominate a named Ukrainian or named Ukrainian family to stay with them in their home or in a separate property.

For Ukrainian nationals in the UK with an existing visa, they are able to extend their stay by extending their visa or switching to another immigration route, where eligible, even if their visa does not normally allow them to do so.

A factsheet is available with information on the immigration routes available or Ukrainian nationals in the UK, British nationals and their family members.

There is a cross government GOV.UK Russian invasion of Ukraine: UK government response page which provides all the announcements and featured articles.

Keep checking the UK visa support for Ukrainian Nationals page for updated information.

Temporary suspension of priority and super priority services in some out of country routes

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is currently prioritising applications made under the Ukraine Family Scheme in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion of Ukraine.

As a result, UKVI have temporarily suspended priority and super priority services for new study, work, and family applications. Customers with standard applications in study, work, and family routes may experience some delays in the processing of their application. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

This message has been updated on the Visa decision waiting times GOV.UK page. Customers will be contacted by visa application centre (VAC) staff when their passport is ready for collection and are reminded not to attend the VAC until they have been invited to do so.

In-country customers applying for replacement biometric resident permits (BRP) and replacement biometric residence cards (BRC)

To assist the Ukrainian crisis, UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) is working hard to increase appointment capacity.

To support our customers and address demand for appointments, UKVCAS will invite some customers who have been identified by UKVI as having reusable biometrics to apply via the IDV app. If you are applying for a replacement BRP or BRC card, some applications related to nationality or indefinite leave to remain as a partner or parent, you will not be able to book an appointment immediately on registering with UKVCAS. Instead you will be checked for reusable biometrics and then contacted to let you know if you are able to use the app or if you should proceed in booking an appointment.

UKVI and UKVCAS have produced guidance for customers using the IDV App, including a frequently asked questions document and a ‘How to’ animated video.

Homes for Ukraine – sponsorship of Ukrainian refugees

Key elements of the scheme:

• Individuals, charities and businesses can sponsor named refugees who fill out visa applications to stay in accommodation in the UK provided by the sponsor.
• Expectation is that accommodation is provided for at least 6 months.
• Applies to all persons who were Ukrainian nationals or immediate family members of Ukrainian nationals and were resident in Ukraine prior to 1 January 2022.
• Individuals may receive £350 per month for providing the accommodation to sponsored persons.
• Devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales to seek to become super-sponsors and provide housing and other services themselves to thousands of refugees.
• Sponsored persons will have full access to benefits, healthcare, employment support, education, English language tuition and to work in the UK labour market.
• Residency rights and rights to work last for up to 3 years.
• Visa applications under the scheme go live on Friday 18 March.

Further information for businesses and a link to register as sponsors is available here.

Export Support Service

For advice about transporting humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees, contact the free-to-use Export Support Service (ESS) or ESS helpline 0300 303 8955 which can be used by individuals, businesses or charities.

Useful links below:

• Ukraine: what you can do to help
• Homes for Ukraine Scheme (UK)
• Houses for Ukraine (EU scheme)

New UK sanctions on Russian goods announced

A further tranche of UK sanctions on Russian goods and selected UK exports to Russia has been announced by the UK government.

On exports, further restrictions on exporting luxury goods to Russia are being introduced. Covering luxury cars, jewellery and works of art. This will come into force “shortly”.

On imports, additional tariffs of 35% are being levied on a wide range of Russian and Belarussian goods, including vodka, cement, fertilisers, tyres, iron and steel and also commodities such as copper, wood, aluminium, silver and lead. These additional tariffs will apply on CDS and CHIEF from next week.

Tariffs are ultimately faced by the consumer so there will be price increases should UK consumers choose to buy imported products of Russian origin.

The full list of products with 35% additional tariffs is available here.

Q&A on trade with Ukraine, Russia and Belarus

The BCC team has put together a Q&A on trade with Ukraine, Russia and Belarus which may be useful for Chambers and members. This will be updated as required to reflect any new guidance.

ChamberCustoms

ChamberCustoms is offering free export declarations for groups collecting and transporting humanitarian aid out of the UK. See further information here.

A customs easement is now in place making it easier to move aid and donations to help the people of Ukraine.

Export Support Service

For advice contact the free-to-use Export Support Service (ESS) or ESS helpline 0300 303 8955 which can be used by individuals, businesses or charities.

Immigration information for Ukrainians in the UK, British nationals and their family members – available here.

The BCC has been working hard to assess how the war in Ukraine will impact Chambers and their member businesses in the coming weeks and months. As part of this work, we asked London Chamber member, Fragomen – a law firm specialising in immigration, to consider how employers can support staff and their families. Click here to access their article.

Additional resources from Fragomen:

• Exiting Ukraine and immigration considerations for the UK – available here.
• Land Border Crossing Requirements for Ukrainians – available here.

Following Russia’s further violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the National Cyber Security Centre has called on organisations in the UK to bolster their online defences.

The NCSC has urged organisations to follow its guidance on steps to take when the cyber threat is heightened.

While the NCSC is not aware of any current specific threats to UK organisations in relation to events in and around Ukraine, there has been an historical pattern of cyber attacks on Ukraine with international consequences.

The guidance encourages organisations to follow actionable steps that reduce the risk of falling victim to an attack. Businesses can also follow the NCSC’s LinkedIn and Twitter for further updates. More information on cyber security can be found below:

• CNI, large orgs and public sector – NCSC alert
• SMEs – Small business guide
• Microbusinesses, sole traders – Cyber Action plan
• Citizens – Cyber Aware