A 36 -year -old Ukrainian refugee, Lidia, is facing a difficult possibility of returning to its war -torn motherland after reconstruction of her life in Britain. Running from Ukraine with her newborn and child in 2022, she now fears that the lack of a clear passage for a permanent residence will force her to return the next year.
“Even if they say that there is a ceasefire … I will have five, six years, (Russians) coming back,” he said. “And then my son has to become a soldier. My daughter can be killed or raped.”
Lidia, who requested oblivion to protect her privacy, is one of the 218,000 Ukrainians who sought shelter in Britain under a special visa since 2022.
As his initial visa is near the expiration, and with only 18 months of expansion on the proposal, his future is uncertain.
According to the National Statistics (ONS) survey for the 2024 office, about 70 percent of Ukrainians in the UK want to remain Ukrainians, but without clear legal status, many can be forced to take refuge elsewhere or return to their motherland.
Along with urging Ukraine citizens to return, it constructed the Ministry of National Unity in the last December, to facilitate the return of about 7 million citizens – and Britain offered a permanent rehabilitation process, the lidia got stuck.
She says that her children feel more British than Ukrainian and have intimate relations with their community in northern England.
Charity worker said, “I want to live in the UK.
‘Give people an option’
Britain has two visa plans for Ukrainian refugees: for family members in Britain already – a route that has now closed – and for Ukraine sponsorship plan, houses allowed Britain to offer a housing to those who escaped from war.
In February this year, the government opened 18 -month Ukrainian Protection Extension Visa for those whose initial three years of visas were about to end this year.
But none of these schemes offer permanent stay and the Home Office, or the Interior Ministry has yet proposed further visa extensions.
“Our offering of temporary sanctuary is in line with a strong desire to return the future of its citizens of the Ukrainian government, and does not lead to settlement,” a spokesman for a home office said in an email comments.
Ukrainian Support Charity Opora stated that Ukrainians must have the option to revive in Britain and for example, can help Ukraine rebuild from distance to send back remittances.
“Ukraine will definitely need to go back to rebuilding, but closing the options and thus forcing people to return will not make a happy return of returns. So give people an option,” said Managing Director Stan Bene.
Route for rehabilitation?
In early June, the European Commission proposed temporary protection for about 4.26 million Ukrainian refugees in the European Union by March 2027.
It was also recommended that the member states began to infection to those who want to live in other legal conditions, for example, by offering work permits and student visas.
Basti, a charity that supports the European Union citizens and Ukrainians in Britain, urged London to follow the suit and extend the extension visa period from 18 to 36 months, and also offered rehabilitation possibilities, as is the case for Afghans and Hong Kongers.
“Ukrainian should be given a way for disposal. We have children who are born and grow up in Britain. The English is their first language,” said Yulia Ismail, an immigration advisor to settle.
He said that despite a record backlog, he wanted to apply for asylum in Ukrainian, as he would be able to live indefinitely if he was successful.
According to official data, in the first quarter of 2025, there were about 380 asylum claims by Ukrainian, compared to 570 in 2024 and about 100 years ago.
“This uncertainty pushes people to the shelter system,” Ismail said.
Stuck in limbo
Even with 18 months of visa extension, many Ukrainians are unable to have safe rental housing or work contracts due to uncertainty on their final position, called charities.
In 2024, ONS surveyed over a third of Ukrainians said they were looking for work, and only one third said they were working in the same area as they did in Ukraine.
The February 1 report by the British Red Cross stated that without jobs, many Ukrainian properties were unable to hire and were likely to be more than doubled than the general population.
Maria, a 40 -year -old single mother of Kiev, who lives in Scotland, said that she could not get teaching work despite having local qualifications and withdrawing for approximately 100 jobs.
Maria, who also used a pseudo -name for privacy, said that employers were not interested in hiring Ukrainian for long -term jobs.
“It really bothers me. We can’t buy anything new for our home like a wardrobe, even an extra spoon. What we do if we need to leave? What we will do? Everyday life is just unstable. I can’t think what will happen tomorrow,” he said.