Secure Status for Ukrainian Displaced Persons in the UK and EU

Of the 6 million Ukrainians displaced to European countries, around 4% came to the UK (4th in terms of number of arrivals after Germany, Poland and Czechia). Around 210,000 people arrived under Ukrainian Schemes and 121,600 remained in the country. Public opinion and sentiment in the UK is in favour of this support (6 of 10 UK adults would confirm long-term support to Ukrainian refugees). However, displaced Ukrainians face difficulties in securing long term status in host countries despite special provisions for temporary immigration status.

About the research

In July 2025, Dr Olena Chub, visiting Associate Professor, and Professor Dr Devyani Prabhat of University of Bristol Law School held a workshop with NGO’s, legal advice groups, and lawyers who work with migrant communities to gather best practice and evidence on how to support displaced Ukrainians. This briefing outlines four key recommendations for policymakers:

  1. Provide for longer periods of time (automatically renewed) under the special Ukrainian visa and visa extension schemes.
  2. Permit the time periods under each scheme to count towards the residence requirements for long term secure status (such as indefinite leave to remain in the UK or permanent residence in EU countries).
  3. Specifically secure the welfare and long term legal status of children who are displaced.
  4. Support NGOs working closely with community members to provide legal advice or resources to displaced community members.

Key findings

  • Special visa or residence schemes devised by the UK and EU members for Ukrainians have had tremendous beneficial impact in securing safety for displaced Ukrainian nationals. Shown in Anna’s story (below), this is primarily a labour-active population who contribute to European economies.
  • There are concerns about workforce disruption if workers in critical sectors only have short term status. The risk of increased reliance on emergency housing, social services, and NHS mental health support puts pressure on public services. A surge in late asylum claims or applications for leave outside the rules, increases Home Office backlogs and places strain on the legal system.
  • The short 18-month terms of residence extension undermine most educational courses, apprenticeships, tenancies and job contracts.
  • Ukrainian schemes at present exclude Ukrainians from obtaining any long term secure status. Displaced Ukrainians did not emigrate choosing a type of visa and they have no route to settlement in their host countries.
  • Ukrainian nationals could apply for another type of permission (for example, work, study or family visas) should they meet the eligibility criteria for that route. But there are many challenges in these pathways.
Anna is a single mother with a child, works as a care assistant in an elderly care home, currently on a fixed contract. Her employer would like to retain her but cannot sponsor due to salary threshold restrictions. She is active in the local Ukrainian community centre, volunteers in school, fluent in English yet she finds herself in legal limbo owing to short term status with contestant worry about being removed, and fear of destabilising her son’s life and education. She could lose her job and become ineligible for tenancy, leading to homelessness and hardship. She fears disruption to her child’s education and wellbeing with potential safeguarding concerns.
Case Study provided by the Scottish Refugee Council

Policy implications

  • Extension Schemes: extensions of stay in host countries should be automatic and of a long enough duration. The case study of Anna illustrates how certainty and stability is crucial so that housing, work and education can continue.
  • Routes to Secure Status: permit the residence periods under the visa schemes to contribute to long term secure status. Displaced Ukrainians should be able to proceed to long-term residence with rights to work, rent and study.
  • Children’s Rights: Ukrainian children (as well as adults) are traumatized by war, and deserve continuous education and mental health support rather than further compulsory displacement. All children should receive support (education and health including mental health) without any requirement of evidence of legal status.
  • Support for NGOs in the community: Local government and public sector should support NGOs already working with the community who provide support with: housing and homelessness; tenancy schemes; funding for immigration support; space and resources for community based assistance; legal advice, access to data and guidance for immigration processes. A positive example is that of the case study below.

Further information

Prabhat, D. (2023). MacDermott Lecture 2023: Confounding the Rule of Law: conflating immigration, nationality, and asylum in the UK. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 74(3).

Prabhat, D., & Seeberg, M. L. (2024). ‘Firm but Fair’? Migrant Children’s Rights through Dramaturgy and Nation Branding in Norway and the UK. Comparative Migration Studies, 12(1), Article 35.

Chub, O. (2025). Constitutional Rights’ Defence in Wartime Ukraine. International Law after the Ukraine War. Ed. J. Giblin et al. Routledge.

BA/Cara/Leverhulme Research Support Grant LTRSF24\100094

Image copyright: Sam Church

The names and identifying data in the case study have been changed to protect personal information.

The policy brief was co-produced with civil society and legal service providers working with Ukrainian displaced nationals in Poland, Czechia and the UK:

Stan Beneš, Managing Director, Opora; Anna Dąbrowska, President of Homo Faber Association, Lublin, Poland; Yuliia Ismail, qualified advocate, Ukraine, IAA L2 immigration advisor, Settled CIC; Myroslava Keryk, Founder and Head of the Ukrainian House, Warsaw, Poland; Professor Witold Klaus, Head of Migration Law Research Centre, Institute of Law Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences and co-president of the Migration Consortium in Poland; Milena Kloczkowska, Lawyer of Homo Faber Association, MA, Researcher at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland; Anna Kulish, Chair of Business and Economy Working Group, Scottish Parliament CPG on Ukraine; Sergii Kupriienko, Immigration Solicitor, Fairhill Solicitors Ltd. ; Olha Maksymiak, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Working Group, Scottish Parliament CPG on Ukraine, Adviser on Matters of People Displaced from Ukraine in Scotland; Tetyana Nesterchuk, Fountain Court Chambers; Luke Piper, Head of Immigration and Solicitor, Work Rights Centre; Polina Perfilieva, Helpline Adviser, Scottish Refugee Council; Halyna Ryzhenko, Secretary of Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) Sheffield Branch, Volunteer Opora; Magda Sabadello, Project Officer, International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Vienna, with Ukrainian Consultation Centres in Czech Republic, Germany and Poland; Noah Samuel Thomas, Scottish Refugee Council, Refugee Integration Advisor, accredited IAA Advisor at Immigration Level 1 and Asylum and Protection Level 2.

Authors

Dr Olena Chub, Visiting Associate Professor University of Bristol Law School

Professor Dr Devyani Prabhat, University of Bristol Law School