Cornish family "disappointed" in visa system as pregnant Ukrainian refugees held up by red tape

  • Watch Charlotte Gay's report.

Families in Cornwall say the people of Ukraine have suffered enough without the ongoing wait for their VISAs to come through.

A community group in St Austell say the only arrivals so far have been those with a family connection.

Chris Gardner has, with his Ukrainian wife, been helping to pair local families with Ukrainian refugees.

He says the government's handling of the visa process has been "a scandal" and he thinks it is "absolutely inhumane" to expect that people escaping war should "sit for weeks with no fixed accommodation".

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One St Austell family who have been trying to help two pregnant women get to the UK says they feel let down after one gave birth in Poland and now has to restart parts of the application in Polish.

Michell Toogood-Johnson says the family are "so disappointed in the system".

"I know we have to be rigorous and we have to have checks, but these are traumatised people fleeing war and it is heartbreaking. It is affecting them emotionally and adding more trauma to them daily for the wait for these visas."

Tetiana's baby daughter was born in Poland, so the family now need polish documents to process their visa applications. Credit: Family handout

Michelle and Ian Toogood-Johnson paired with Tetiana, her husband Yurii and their daughter Yana in March and desperately tried to get the heavily pregnant mother to the UK before she gave birth.

However despite support from local MP Steve Double and assurances the family would be in a priority list, Tetiana gave birth to a little baby girl on the 2nd of April.

Ian says it is particularly frustrating because "there's no way of finding out where your application is."

The family have also agreed to sponsor a second Ukrainian woman, 27-year-old Kateryna Mudryk who is 22-weeks pregnant.

Kateryna Mudryk is sofa surfing in Finland but says she needs support before her summer due date. Credit: Family handout

Speaking over Facetime from Finland, Kateryna says she cannot afford medical cover in the Scandinavian country.

"I could have some medical support over here, it would be much easier, but I cannot because it's quite expensive.

"I don't even know who I am waiting for the boy or girl because the last my ultrasound were in Ukraine and it was like maybe 12 weeks ago."

In a statement from the Government's Levelling Up department, who are running the Homes for Ukraine Scheme admit the process of applying for visas has not been up to standard.

“We continue to process visas for the Homes for Ukraine scheme as quickly as possible, but accept progress has not been quick enough."

The department says it has streamlined the application form, allowed Ukrainian passport holders to apply online and do their biometrics checks once they arrive in the UK.