Christian leaders in London, including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, have written to the prime minister asking him to relax visa restrictions limiting the admission of Ukrainian refugees into the UK.
A meeting of London Church Leaders co-chaired by the Archbishop of Westminster wrote a letter “to share our concerns at the greatest humanitarian crisis since the end of the end of the Second World War” and to “emphasise the urgency to act swiftly and without delay” as the estimated number of refugees leaving Ukraine passed two million.
While welcoming the government’s family sponsorship programme for visas and its intention to establish a humanitarian sponsorship scheme, the leaders asked: “How can mothers with young children, the elderly and the disabled, who have travelled a thousand miles be expected to complete online application forms in a language foreign to them?”
“Times of war require swift action and flexibility, the easing of normal procedures and the removal of complex bureaucratic obstacles that can easily turn hope into despair and resignation,” the letter continued.
They asked that “sponsorship criteria be expanded to include all Ukrainian refugees on humanitarian grounds, allowing them to enter the UK as quickly as possible”.
The leaders had met at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Mayfair to pray with Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, the Ukrainian Eparch in Britain. They included Archbishop Nikitas of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Coptic Archbishop Angaelos who joined last Saturday’s Trafalgar Square protest, and representatives of Anglican and Catholic dioceses, nonconformist churches, and the Salvation Army.
They were joined by Kemi Badenoch, the government’s faith minister. She praised “the church and other faith communities [who] have been at the heart of these humanitarian efforts, and I stand together with faith leaders in calling for peace and offering our full support”.
On Tuesday, the government introduced a local sponsorship scheme to allow charities, businesses, and community groups to sponsor visas for Ukrainians without family ties to the UK. However, the government has been criticised for continuing to demand that applicants fill out lengthy forms and provide biometric data at visa application centres, which have been difficult to access for refugees travelling across Europe.
The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has said she will relax the requirement for in-person appointments at visa centres, and from next Tuesday those with Ukrainian passports will be able to apply online.
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