Ukrainian family abandon UK move after visa delays

Lesha Voloshyn and her daughters have decided to stay in Ireland

A Ukrainian family has given up on moving to the UK after claiming their application took too long to process.

When the war in Ukraine started, Anton Mandziuk drove from his home in Rutland to the Polish border to collect his cousin and her family.

He then applied for them to live with him, but after weeks of waiting they have decided to go to Ireland instead.

A government spokesperson said they were moving as quickly as possible and had already issued almost 30,000 visas.

Lesha Voloshyn, her three daughters and six grandchildren fled their home in Ivano-Frankivsk on 5 March.

They made their way to the Polish border where Mr Mandziuk picked them up.

Anton Mandziuk described the UK government's visa application process as "shambolic"

Mr Mandziuk - whose father was from Ukraine - then applied for their visas to come to the UK.

He said it was a "difficult and tiring" process and at one point, his family even considered giving up and going back to Ukraine.

"It's been a really, really difficult journey.

"I've been filling in these ginormous application forms, which are still to be processed," he said.

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His relatives had permission to stay anywhere in the European Union and spent the first few weeks in the Netherlands and Belgium.

With their UK application taking so long to be processed, they decided to go to Ireland because English is the first language there.

He said they had been warmly welcomed and were staying at a hotel with other Ukrainian families.

Mr Mandziuk drove to the Polish border to collect his cousin and her family

Mr Mandziuk said his family now planned to stay in Ireland after what has already been an arduous journey - a decision he found "really disappointing".

"I'd love them to be able to come to England, where I've got a big family to support them while they're here, but equally I've got to respect their decision.

"They've been desperate to get the children into school, they've been on the road for some four weeks," he said.

Mr Mandziuk's relatives went to the Netherlands when they first left Ukraine

A government spokesperson said they had issued almost 30,000 visas in the past three weeks and were expecting to issue thousands more.

"We are moving as quickly as possible to ensure that those fleeing Ukraine can find safety in the UK.

"We have streamlined the process so valid passport holders do not have to attend in-person appointments before arriving in the UK, simplified our forms and boosted caseworker numbers, while ensuring vital security checks are carried out," the spokesperson added.