“Why must they be left behind?”

Tuesday 01 March 2022

“Devastated” islanders from Ukraine and a St. Helier Deputy are urgently calling on Jersey’s Government to find a solution to stringent UK visa rules that risk leaving some of their family members behind in the war zone.

While many were “relieved” when the Government announced it would be putting in place a ‘fast-track’ visa system, for some this turned to disappointment when they learnt of the exact requirements to obtain a UK visa to be able to travel onward to Jersey.

According to current criteria, visas will only be given to "close relatives" of British nationals.

Branded as "heartless and mean spirited" by the Refugee Council, the rule applies to spouses, unmarried partners of at least two years, parents or their children if one is under 18, or adult relatives who are also carers.

Anyone who does not fit the criteria is being invited apply for a permit under the UK's points-based immigration system - a process that could take weeks.

Regardless of family status, there is an additional challenge in the application process, as all applicants must attend a visa application centre first to give their biometrics.

The one in the capital of Kyiv is closed, and and the only one in Ukraine is in the western city of Lviv, meaning a potentially perilous journey across the war-torn country for anyone who wants to apply.

Deputy Inna Gardiner said she was aware of more than 20 Ukrainian nationals living in Jersey who were struggling with the rules.

She said she was appalled that Jersey's Government was not doing more to push back on the UK Government or find an alternative solution for Ukrainian islanders' family members caught out by the rules.

Pictured: Deputy Inna Gardiner, who is close with the island's Russian-speaking community, which includes Ukrainians, demanded that Jersey's Government put pressure on the UK or find an alternative way of helping Ukrainian islanders' families.

Many Ukrainian islanders' families are living in dangerous areas, and have witnessed bombings and shooting first-hand. Deputy Gardiner says there isn't the time for bureaucracy.

She wants to see family criteria loosened, and, like Scottish first Minister Nicola Sturgeon, she is also calling for families be allowed to travel first, with their paperwork completed on arrival.

Among the people Deputy Gardiner says she was fighting for is an islander's sister, who is stranded in Kyiv, "alone following the death of her mother, currently sheltering in a basement listening to explosions with no access to medication."

For Annoshka Kehoe, this throws the status of her mother, twin sister and 15-year-old nephew's bid to get to Jersey into doubt. "It is ridiculous. We have the same DNA, she's my half. Her kids and mine - they are brothers and sisters, not cousins."

They have only just completed a "horrifying" journey to Poland, forced to leave behind Annoshka's sister's husband, who was stopped at the border and told he must go and fight for Ukraine.

Pictured: The last photo of Annoshka's family together before they had to leave her brother-in-law at the Polish border.

They have a visa appointment today in Poland, and Annoshka is crossing her fingers. Fortunately, even if they must wait a long time for a positive result, they are safe, residing in a home with another family in Poland.

This is not the case for the aunt and heavily pregnant cousin of Lera Evered, who moved to Jersey 25 years ago.

She was hoping that the family might be able to seek safe haven in Jersey, but first they must worry about the baby.

Her cousin is due to give birth in two weeks, but is stuck with her family in Kyiv - a city this morning struck by dread as a 40-mile Russian tank convoy was reportedly approaching.

More than 80 babies have been born amid the chaos of underground bomb shelters, and it's expected this is where Lera's cousin will give birth. If they don't make it to a shelter on time, Lera has advised her aunt that she will have to deliver the baby in the bathroom, where they have already got "all windows covered in heavy metals and tape for if it shatters".

The rules around "close" family aren't the only issue.

Even if they are relaxed, for Yuliia Kazanska, who has worked in finance in Jersey for three years, one of the problems is that she herself does not have British citizenship, and nor does her Ukraine-born husband, despite completing their applications around a year ago. 

Both would like to bring their parents, who are in the western city of Chernivtsi to Jersey, but have been warned they could face a visa wait of up to six weeks. Yuliia, who is currently on maternity leave, would like them to be able to meet their new granddaughter. 

While, at present, they are in a safer place than some of the other cities "where residential houses are being bombed", Yuliia is conscious that "you can never be safe in Ukraine now."

"I thought it was a simplistic procedure but it's not. There is a simplified procedure for UK nationals, but not for those who are not nationals yet. Me and my husband applied for citizenship a year ago.

"And immediate family members is such a narrow circle. I don't think there is a lot of people who can actually use this [visa scheme] help as it was proclaimed."

Valeriya Stratford, who married in Ukraine in 2010 before coming to Jersey with her husband, is worried about her parents, brother and niece, who are still in the country.

She thought it was "great" when Jersey's Government announced the visa process, but was disappointed when her husband, Chris, was simply sent a link to a Gov.uk page after inquiring about how it might be able to help the family.

Based in Dnipro, an industrial city about 500km south-east of Kyiv, to attempt the long trip either to Lviv or across the border would be incredibly dangerous.

Chris also asked whether there would be any support available for Jersey residents who did take in their families as refugees, noting that the pair only live in a two-bedroom flat with their daughter. His message was met with silence.

"Jersey is a very rich island, they could do so much more," he lamented.

Pictured: Valeriya Stratford and their daughter in Kyiv on Independence Day.

Express has seen emails from External Relations officials to Ukrainian islanders warning of "limitations" on the criteria for family visas, including to islanders applying to help their parents.

They state that it would be up to visa officers to decide whether there are "compelling reasons to extend the criteria, decided on a case-by-case basis."

They also reminded them that they could freely cross into bordering EU countries. The European Union has said it is preparing to grant all Ukrainian refugees the right to stay and work in one of its 27 countries for up to three years.

"There is already a family structure here to help them adjust and recover from the trauma... It would be strange to throw them to other countries when their families are in Jersey," said Deputy Gardiner.

"I am getting so cross," she added, "I realise we are dependent on the UK. If the UK Government cannot issue visas on arrival, press the UK Government."
She went on to explain that, while sanctions are important, they offer little practical help to those who really need it.

"If we cannot care for the family members of our residents, who can we care for? Jersey's office saying it cannot issue visas for anyone else apart from ["close" family], all other family members cannot get one.

"It doesn't make any sense. In the situation where people are suffering, we need to minimise suffering as soon as we can - we need to cut the bureaucratic barriers.

"...In an emergency situation, you do things differently. The most important thing is saving people's lives. [Jersey's Government] needs to work with the UK or put the pressure on.

"It feels like there is a lot of rhetoric but in practical help, we are a bit failing. This could make a real difference to real people immediately."

Express asked what, if anything, Jersey's Government is doing to help Ukrainian islanders' family members - "close" and otherwise - to reach safety on the island.

A statement signed off by Jersey's Home Affairs Minister said the Government was considering "concessions" for Ukrainians wishing to come to Jersey.

"The Government fully recognises the distress that many Ukrainians are experiencing having to leave Ukraine and is offering ongoing advice to a number of people who have contacted both External Relations and Jersey Customs and Immigration Service."

"The Government of Jersey is in close communication with UK authorities in the Home Office and have put in place concessions, aligned to those in the UK, to assist Ukrainians who intend to come to Jersey.  As a Crown Dependency the Island aligns its immigration controls to that of the UK on the basis that any person who is granted entry to Jersey can travel freely to the UK and vice versa," it read.

"Careful consideration is being given to any potential further concessions to assist Ukrainians wishing to come to Jersey.

"External Relations is in direct communication with those who are intending to come to island, and commercial aircraft movements to the UK from Poland and other European are operating as normal."

Pictured top: Ukrainian children in a bomb shelter in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, 27 February 2022.