The priority for the Home Office is to support Ukrainian nationals and their family members. They are working at pace to process visa applications as quickly as possible.
The UK visa support for Ukrainian nationals page on GOV.UK is kept up to date with all the support and information for Ukrainian nationals and their family members. Please keep checking this page for up to date information.
The Ukraine Family Scheme allows family members of British nationals, UK settled persons and certain others to come to or stay in the UK. From 15 March, holders of a valid Ukrainian international passport (or expired Ukrainian international passport with an official extension stamp endorsed by the Ukrainian government - including embassies and consulates) who haven't made an online application for Ukraine Family Scheme yet, will need to make an application but will not need to attend the visa application centre (VAC) to submit their biometrics provided they upload a copy of their valid Ukraine international passport (photograph page) on the TLS document upload app (or VFS document upload app if applying in location outside of Europe or Africa). If they can do this, they will be sent a permission letter to travel to the UK and biometrics will be taken once in the UK.
A Ukrainian Family Scheme factsheet is available on GOV.UK in English and Ukrainian.
The Home Office Employers Guide to Right to Work Checks has an annex on Ukraine to support employers seeking guidance on what documentation Ukrainian nationals will need to prove their right to work.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme allows individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety including those with no family ties. Phase one of the scheme will allow sponsors in the UK to nominate a named Ukrainian or named Ukrainian family to stay with them in their home or in a separate property.
For Ukrainian nationals in the UK with an existing visa, they are able to extend their stay by extending their visa or switching to another immigration route, where eligible, even if their visa does not normally allow them to do so.
A factsheet is available with information on the immigration routes available or Ukrainian nationals in the UK, British nationals and their family members.
There is a cross government GOV.UK Russian invasion of Ukraine: UK government response page which provides all the announcements and featured articles.
Keep checking the UK visa support for Ukrainian Nationals page for updated information.
In-country customers applying for replacement biometric resident permits (BRP) and replacement biometric residence cards (BRC)
To assist the Ukrainian crisis, UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) is working hard to increase appointment capacity.
To support our customers and address demand for appointments, UKVCAS will invite some customers who have been identified by UKVI as having reusable biometrics to apply via the IDV app. If you are applying for a replacement BRP or BRC card, some applications related to nationality or indefinite leave to remain as a partner or parent, you will not be able to book an appointment immediately on registering with UKVCAS. Instead you will be checked for reusable biometrics and then contacted to let you know if you are able to use the app or if you should proceed in booking an appointment.
UKVI and UKVCAS have produced guidance for customers using the IDV App, including a frequently asked questions document and a 'How to’ animated video.