17-year-old boy heading for East Yorkshire left stranded after fleeing Ukraine

A 17 year old boy, who dreams of being a doctor, has spent six weeks stranded in the Netherlands, unable to get to his new home in East Yorkshire after fleeing war torn Ukraine.

Andrii, who is a medical student, left Ukraine in March, but has still not been issued a visa from the Home Office.

Jeanette and Jos Kleijnen from Sunk Island, applied to house Andrii in March with the permission of his family, as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme launched by the Government.

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Andrii's parents are doctors and have stayed in Ukraine to help take care of those fighting on the front-line.

The 17-year-old said: "It is hard. I do not know what will happen to them tomorrow, or even in five minutes. Anything could happen to them.

"I still receive those notifications about air-raid alarms on my phone and it's getting more and more frequent."

"I'm just feeling so frustrated. I really had high hopes for this way of evacuation from the country."

Andrii and Jos Kleijnen have been staying in the Netherlands since March 26.

Retired GP, Jos Kleijnen who lives just outside Hull, flew out to support Adnrii on March 26th, but the pair are still stranded overseas whilst the Home Office responds to his visa application.

Mr Kleijnen said: "It is so frustrating that we have to wait so long for something that should be really simple.

"It would be by far the best thing for Andrii so that he can be in an environment where he feels comfortable and safe and where can get his life back together."

Andrii got into medical school two years early and is used to living away from his parents, but he is classed as a child by the Home Office.

In a statement the Home Office said: “Due to safeguarding concerns, unaccompanied minors are only eligible under the Homes for Ukraine scheme if they are reuniting with a parent or legal guardian in the UK.”

However, in official Home Office guidance for the Homes for Ukraine scheme, it is stated that:

"Where an applicant is under 18 and they are not travelling with a parent to the UK, written consent must be provided from both parents or their legal guardian.

"The consent must confirm the application, the living and care arrangements in the UKand, in entry clearance cases, the applicant’s travel arrangements."

Andrii submitted his visa application on March 18, but neither him, nor the Kleijnen family say they have had any contact with the Home Office since. 

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