According to the charity Settled, the visas cannot be identified as fraudulent in appearance because Ukrainians are allowed to travel by airline staff. However, border guards do not consider these documents valid.
After the discovery of counterfeit visas, Ukrainian refugees become illegal migrants – their passports are confiscated. Border guards are increasingly granting Ukrainians visas for six months, but they are left without access to housing or benefits.
The Home Office said it is constantly working to identify and prevent the scam, which it blames on organized crime groups.
The Settled organization called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to issue clear instructions to Border Guard officers on issuing temporary visa stamps to defrauded Ukrainians.
The executive director of the charity organization Opora, Stan Benesh, also often encounters Ukrainians who have become victims of visa scams. According to him, scammers often offer refugees to enter the UK through Ireland, since Ukrainians do not always know that Ireland is not part of the UK.
“We are trying to explain that visas under the Ukraine Scheme are free and that people must be connected to a legal sponsor in the UK to apply,” he stressed.
The British Red Cross also said it was aware of a small number of cases where Britons expected to host Ukrainians paid for them to travel to the country with a specific offer of work upon arrival. However, it later turned out that the employment conditions differed significantly from those initially agreed upon.
“We have also heard of cases where additional living expenses (utilities, food costs) associated with raising a family are used as a basis to force people to work in exploitative conditions,” the Red Cross added.
Other charities have previously warned that owners of houses where Ukrainians live are overbilling. It forces people to work in an exploitative manner.
Problems of Ukrainian immigrants in European countries
Ukrainian refugees continue to travel to Europe. The number of people with temporary protection is growing in all EU countries except Denmark.
At the end of January, cuts to payments to newly arrived Ukrainian refugees in Ireland and a limit on the time spent in public housing will come into force.
In Poland, the Blue Dot support centers for Ukrainian refugees, which have been operating in transit zones since the beginning of the war, are being closed. The centers will complete their activities by December 31.
And the Minister of Immigration and Integration of Denmark, Kaare Dybvada, said that Ukrainian refugees who currently live in Denmark will have to return to Ukraine after the end of the war.
2023-12-26 01:01:00
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