The UK will extend its visa schemes for Ukrainian citizens

The UK has granted Ukrainian citizens the possibility to apply for an 18-month extension to their visas, as announced by the Home Office. Originally, those who fled earliest from the Russian invasion were allowed to stay for three years, until March 2025. After this news, they will be able to stay in the UK until September 2026 instead.

The UK set up three different visa schemes for Ukrainians: the Homes for Ukraine scheme, the Ukraine Family Scheme, and the Ukraine Extension Scheme. All three visa schemes will have the possibility of the extension. These visas allow the holders to have access to benefits such as work, education and healthcare. 

Those Ukrainians included in these visa schemes will be able to start applying for their extension in 2025, when their visa is three months away from expiring. There’s no information yet as to if the extension will have specific fees attached or not.

This decision will impact the more than 200,000 Ukrainians that have arrived in the UK looking to escape the war. Eduard Fesko, charge d’affaires at the Ukrainian embassy in the UK, thanked the country for their help and said: “We appreciate all the help and assistance that our UK friends so generously provide for the temporarily displaced Ukrainians.”