UK starting to turn away Ukrainians – Guardian

Refugee status is being denied on grounds that people can relocate to safer parts of Ukraine, according to the newspaper

The UK has begun turning down asylum claims from Ukrainians, asserting that applicants can safely relocate to other parts of Ukraine, the Guardian has reported.

A London-based legal firm told the newspaper on Friday that it receives weekly inquiries from Ukrainians whose refusal letters commonly state that they do not meet the threshold for persecution under the Refugee Convention, as applicants are deemed able to relocate to safer parts of Ukraine.

The letters also cite the availability of public services in Ukraine and suggest that seeking help from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and local organizations.

The firm noted that the growing number of refusals was linked to updates made in January to the UK Home Office’s guidance, which now identifies regions such as Kiev and western Ukraine as “generally safe.”

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Refugee status in the UK grants recipients five years of residency with access to work, benefits, healthcare, housing support, and family reunification.

The UK also offers temporary visas through the Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Family schemes, allowing stays of up to 18 months. As of March 2025, over 270,000 visas had been issued.

A Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian that the UK has offered or extended sanctuary to over 300,000 Ukrainians since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. The ministry emphasized that asylum claims are assessed individually and noted that the Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open.

Several million Ukrainians have fled their country over the past three years. According to Eurostat data, around 4.3 million had been granted temporary protection in the EU as of March 2025. Russia, meanwhile, reported that 5.5 million people had arrived from Ukraine by the end of 2023.

READ MORE: EU could end protections for Ukrainian immigrants – media

The outflow has been driven not only by the ongoing conflict but also by increasingly aggressive mobilization tactics used by the Ukrainian military. These efforts have led to violent confrontations between draft officers and those resisting conscription, with male Ukrainians risking criminal prosecution for fleeing the country.

London has committed billions in military assistance to Ukraine since 2022. Moscow has repeatedly accused the UK and its Western allies of using Ukraine as a “battering ram” against Russia and of pursuing the conflict “until the last Ukrainian.”