Ukrainian Holocaust survivor granted UK visa after family campaign
Son-in-law Zac Newman says: 'It is disgraceful they have taken so long to do the right thing - especially compared to what other European countries are doing.'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
The family of a Ukrainian Holocaust survivor who has been stuck in Poland for the past week breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday after the 90-year-old and her daughter were granted visas to come to the UK.
Kateryna Razumenko and 62 year-old Larysa had fled Ukraine on a train along with their pet cat Solomon last Friday. They had been camped in a community centre with other refugees in Poland while their Mill Hill relatives attempted to bring them to London.
Son-in-law Zac Newman told Jewish News he was “very pleased” at the government’s “u-turn.”
Newman said they were still awaiting a flight that could bring the cat, the only possession brought by his distraught family, from their home in Ukraine.
The news came after Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that visa applications for Ukrainians attempting to escape the war-torn country by gaining entry into the UK will be able to make online visa applications next week.
Patel informed MPs on Thursday about a scheme where Ukrainian refugees can join family members already in the UK.
Having learned of the Home Secretary’s announcement, Newman said: “I’m very pleased the government has made what is a U-turn over this.
“It is disgraceful they have taken so long to do the right thing – especially compared to what other European countries are doing.”
Newman flew to Poland himself last weekend in an attempt to get his relatives to the UK.
He was initially told he would have to wait another week before getting an appointment.
The Board of Deputies wrote to the Home Secretary to protest about the slow process.
The speed of the UK’s response has been criticised, with Labour’s Yvette Cooper calling it a “total disgrace”.
Patel said those applying online would be able to give their biometric data, such as fingerprints, once in the UK – allowing visa application centres to focus on those without passports.
No further details were given about how a second scheme for refugees, in which people and organisations could sponsor Ukrainians to come to the UK, would work or when it would begin.
It had been suggested that the family scheme might be expanded to include relatives of people in the UK on temporary visas but this was not addressed by the home secretary in the Commons.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was right that the UK should have “an offer as generous as possible” that was “as light touch as possible” for refugees, but said it remained important to have checks.
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