A young Ukrainian couple’s dreams of escaping to the UK have finally been shattered because their visas took too long to arrive.
The News reported last month that Kamil Salmanov and his partner Natalia Lepekha had been invited by Fiona Taylor to stay at her house on the Pepys Estate, in Deptford bordering Rotherhithe.
But five weeks after applying through the Ukrainian resettlement scheme, the hopeful couple still haven’t received their visa, remaining stranded in Ukraine.
http://southwarknews.co.uk/news/exclusive-stopped-from-coming-here-due-to-uk-paperwork/
Fiona had prayed the couple might still eventually come to the UK.
But the News has now learned the couple ran out of money and have been forced to claim asylum in Poland.
Fiona said: “Isn’t it disgusting, you get out of a war-torn city, you are in a refugee camp, people here are pulling together to make safe space, and the only problem holding you back is some poxy administration issue.”
She added: “I feel like people in this community tried to help them come here – everything was put in place. They had a sanctuary for them here.”
She had even lined up an IT job in the UK for Kamil, a computer programmer from Kharkiv,
Now that the couple has been forced to claim asylum in Poland, they cannot now claim asylum in the UK.
In a heartbreaking text sent to Fiona, Kamil wrote: “God bless you all, you give us faith in the good.
“You know the enemies took a lot from us but the most valuable thing is what we have inside: Faith, hope and love and that’s something no-one can take away.”
Determined to tackle the “powerlessness” she’s felt at watching the war unfold on television, she has already offered her home to 22-year-old Masha from Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
Masha, a psychology student from Kyiv, received her visa yesterday (Wednesday, 20 April) and will soon book her flight to the UK.
Fiona said: “It’s fantastic. I’m so relieved for her and it will be good to meet her.”
“I’m lucky to have a neighbours friends and family who are so invested in this, in making somebody’s life a bit more bearable – that gives me heart.”
Masha is forced to leave her parents, grandparents and younger sister behind in Mykolaiv which is currently subject to heavy shelling.
According to American news site Foreign Policy, Mykolaiv is an important target for Moscow as it looks to invade the key strategic port city of Odessa.
Despite, lodging her application just over a week ago, Masha has already received her visa. Kamil and Natalia applied over five weeks ago but never received theirs.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has apologised for the “frustrating” visa delays which have seen would-be sponsors condemn the bureaucracy of the Homes For Ukraine scheme.