Derbyshire LGBT refugee offer couple waiting on visa process
- Published
Sarah said previous media coverage had led to them being put in touch with a couple in Berlin
A woman and her wife have said their offer of giving a home to LGBT refugees from Ukraine is making progress.
Sarah and Helen Barley-McMullen, from Belper, Derbyshire, have made contact with a couple staying in Berlin.
Sarah said the visa process was proving complicated because one of the women is Russian.
She added: "They can't believe we want them... [they were] told they wouldn't be welcomed."
Last month the Barley-McMullens signed up to both the government scheme and smaller groups looking to rehome those fleeing the fighting.
Millions of people have been displaced by the fighting in Ukraine
They said they focussed on an LGBT couple as they feared such refugees may face additional persecution.
Following BBC coverage of their offer, they got a call from a Ukrainian lawyer based in England with contacts for possible candidates.
The Barley-McMullens, described the couple, who were not being named, as "scared but strong", but there were stumbling blocks.
Sarah said: "They are not allowed to legally get married in Ukraine so we have had to sign a form to say we are willing to take an unmarried couple.
"And one of them is Russian so, when she applied for a visa, her passport was taken away from her."
'Lots of tears'
Would-be sponsors of refugees have criticised bureaucracy and delay in the Homes For Ukraine scheme.
The government has confirmed only a quarter of the 41,000 Ukrainians already granted visas have reached the UK.
But Sarah said they are doing all they can to keep the couple's spirits up.
"We've done a few FaceTimes with them, so we have spoken face to face, and there are always lots of tears because they can't believe we want them to come and live with us," she said.
"The Russian army told them that they wouldn't be welcomed by anybody and we are just proving them wrong."
Sarah said she was looking forward to hosting them.
She said: "I have no idea how they will feel but our plan is just to get them here and that is what we are focussing on.
"Then we will give them the space and tools they will need to start trying to recover."
War in Ukraine: More coverage
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