He described the process by which Maria, 40, and her two children, Bohdan, 15, and Khrystyna, 11, arrived in the United Kingdom as “traumatic”. The children’s father has stayed in Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion, as is the law there. Speaking on the Daily Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics podcast, he said: “It was a very difficult experience for them. Even the experience of coming here was traumatic. “They spent seven hours in line at the Polish border before finally leaving Ukraine, taking the flight to the United Kingdom and the experiences they, and their relatives, have had in various parts of the country recently. two or three months is really painful. “ Regarding the visa process, he said: “The truth is that it was an abnormal start to the program. It took us a long time to get a visa, it took us about three weeks to get all three visas approved. “And so there are people who are frustrated, it has tested the patience of the sponsors and, most importantly, of the families and individuals themselves. “But having participated in some projects that do not look like this in the past, such as the Hong Kong project, the Syria project, the Afghanistan project as a minister, as a community secretary, I know that. But I believe that we will overcome these blows, we are overcoming them now “. He added: “There were simple things we could and should have done from the beginning, such as having the uniform in Ukrainian. “And I’m not sure if you need to check on minors who are extremely unlikely to be a threat to this country.” He said some security checks were needed, but added: “Checks need to be done quickly and in this case I’m afraid it will take a long time.” Jenrik said he had not yet received the 350 350 eligible to host the family under the government’s Homes for Ukraine grant program. If offered, he said he would either not accept it or pass it directly to the refugees. Several MPs and ministers said they had applied for host families. Earlier this month, Conservative MP Duncan Baker said he welcomed a mother and her son. “So far… it has been very satisfying to see them finally feel safe after a very traumatic experience and start stabilizing and rebuilding their lives,” Baker said. Environment Minister Victoria Prenti received a 25-year-old Ukrainian refugee last month as part of a separate visitor visa system. Last week, former Health Minister Matt Hancock said he planned to house seven Ukrainian refugees at his Suffolk residence. Hancock described the visa process as a “challenge”. As of Monday, some 16,400 people had arrived in the United Kingdom under visa programs for Ukraine, according to government figures, with 13,200 arriving under the Ukraine Family Plan and 3,200 under the Homes for Ukraine program. For both programs, 94,700 applications were received and 56,500 visas were issued by Thursday, according to the Ministry of Leveling, Housing and Communities and the Interior Ministry.
