Ukrainians made up half of all UK temporary worker visa applications in 2021
Around 45 per cent of applications for UK temporary work visas last year were made by Ukrainian nationals, who accounted for 19,858 of the total 44,114 applications made last year, according to new data shared with Morning Wire this morning.
There was also an unusually high number of applications from Russian nationals, who accounted for the second highest number of applications (2,507) for temporary worker visas, City law firm Bates Wells said.
Bates Wells said growing tensions in the region, following the build-up of Russian troops along the border from March of last year, are likely to have led to more Ukrainian nationals looking to move overseas.
“The staggeringly high number of visa applications shows that many Ukrainians were making plans to leave the country long before the conflict erupted,” explained Chetal Patel, Partner at Bates Wells.
“Temporary worker visas do not offer a path to settlement for applicants, so these individuals may not initially have been planning to stay in the UK in the long-term.”
Chetal Patel, Partner at Bates Wells
“The Home Office has announced In light of the escalation of events in Ukraine it will enable Ukrainian nationals in the UK to extend or change their visas,” added Matthew James, Associate at Bates Wells.
“We would hope that the Government will also make it easier for Ukrainians who want to escape to come to the UK,” he concluded.