Ukraine Briefing: Ukraine Family Scheme

The UK Government opened the Ukraine Family Scheme visa category on 4 March 2022 to enable Ukrainian nationals and immediate family members of Ukrainian nationals residing in Ukraine prior to 1 January 2022 to join or accompany UK-based family members in the UK. 

There is no visa application fee for this visa, which means it is free to apply. Additionally, the usual visa surcharges, such as the Immigration Health Surcharge, will also not apply.

Successful applicants will be granted a visa for up to three years and the visa will give them permission to live, work and study in the UK without restriction and also access public funds.

Eligibility to apply

To be eligible to apply, the applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

1. Have been living in Ukraine prior to 1 January 2022, even if the applicant has now left Ukraine.
2. Be a Ukrainian national or the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national also applying to the scheme. An "immediate family member" must have one of the following relationships with a Ukrainian national also applying to the scheme:

• Spouse or civil partner of a Ukrainian national;

• Unmarried partner where you have been living with your Ukrainian partner in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years;

• Child of a Ukrainian national under 18 years of age;

• Parent (if the Ukrainian national family member is under 18 years of age); or

• Fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of a Ukrainian national.

3. Be applying to join or accompany a UK-based family member. A "UK-based family member" is one of the following:

• A British national;

• Someone settled in the UK – this means that they have Indefinite Leave to Remain, which is also known as permanent residence or settled status;

• Someone from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland who has Pre-Settled Status in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme and who started living in the UK before 1 January 2021; or

• Someone with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.

Additionally, your relationship, or the relationship of your Ukrainian immediate family member if you are a non-Ukrainian national, must be one of the following to the UK-based family member:

• An immediate family member. This means that the applicant's relationship with the UK-based family member must be:
  • Spouse or civil partner of a UK-based family member where the relationship started before 1 January 2022;
  • Unmarried partner where you have been living with your UK-based family member in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years;
  • Child under 18 years of age of a UK-based family member;
  • Parent (if the UK-based family member is under 18 years of age); or
  • Fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of a UK-based family member where the relationship started before 1 January 2022.
• An extended family member. This means that the applicant's relationship with the UK-based family member must be:
  • Parent (if the UK-based family member is over 18);
  • Child over 18 of a UK-based family member;
  • Grandparent of a UK-based family member;
  • Grandchild of a UK-based family member of the grandchild of a UK-based family member's spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner; 
  • Brother or sister of a UK-based family member; 
  • Aunt or uncle;
  • Niece or nephew;
  • Cousin;
  • Mother-in-law or father-in-law;
  • Grandparent-in-law; or
  • Brother or sister-in-law.
• An immediate family member of an extended family member. This means that the applicant's relationship with the UK-based family member must be:
  • Spouse or civil partner (where the relationship started before 1 January 2022) of an extended family member of a UK-based family;
  • Child under 18 of an extended family of a UK-based family member;
  • Fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of an extended family member of a UK-based family member where the relationship with the extended family member started before 1 January 2022.

Applicants who do not meet the family member definitions

For applicants who do not meet the above family member definitions, the UK Government has stated that it will consider applications from other types of family member provided there are exceptional circumstances for a visa to be granted to such an individual. Any applicant who falls into this category should clearly state in their application the exceptional reasons as to why their visa should be granted, and where possible provide supporting evidence of these exceptional circumstances.

How to apply

From 15 March 2022, it will be possible for Ukrainian nationals to apply without having to attend a Visa Application Centre.  However, at present, to apply, applicants must take the following steps:

1. Complete and submit the online visa application form. Applicants in the UK should use the form here. Applicants outside of the UK should use the form here;
2. Book an appointment at a Visa Application Centre. Applicants in the UK should book and appointment at the visa application centre in the UK. Applicants outside of the UK can apply at any Visa Application Centre they are able to reach safely, including the temporary Visa Application Centre in Rzeszow, Poland. 
3. Attend the Visa Application Centre appointment. At the Visa Application Centre, applicants will have scans of their fingerprints and a digital photograph of their face taken. Applicants must bring their identity documents and any supporting documents which evidence they meet the eligibility criteria for the application with them to their appointment. This may include, but not be limited to:
4. Official documents showing the applicant's family relationship to the UK-based family member for example, birth certificates and marriage certificates which document the family ties;
5. A copy of the UK-based family member's passport and, if the UK-based family member is not British, evidence of their Indefinite Leave to Remain, Settled Status, Permanent Residency, Pre-Settled Status or Refugee or Humanitarian Protection Status;
6. If the applicant is a non-Ukrainian family member of a Ukrainian national applying at the same time, evidence of the applicant's relationship to the Ukrainian national for instance birth certificates or marriage certificates;
7. If the applicant is an unmarried partner, evidence of co-habitation for two years.  This can be documents addressed to the couple dated over the last two years and any other documents evidencing joint lives, including, for example, online copies of bank statements, utility bills, insurance documents, delivery receipts;
8. Evidence of any exceptional circumstances which the applicant would like the Home Office to take into consideration;
9. If any evidential documents are unavailable, a written statement from the applicant explaining why the document is unavailable;
10. Any documents not in English should be accompanied by an English translation.