- Settled

General questions for all schemes

In this section we answer questions relating to Ukrainian
schemes including on fees, visa length, travel, refusal, and wider help.
For more specific scheme information, please go back and
look at information boxes for the relevant scheme.

1. What travel restrictions do I have with a Ukraine visa scheme 'Leave to Remain?'

If you have a 36 or 18-months visa for the UK, you can travel outside the UK and return within the validity of your permission. Ensure you carry the necessary documentation and meet re-entry requirements using a BRP card, or share code after 31.12.2024.

2. What rights do I have as a resident during the visa period?

During your Permission to Stay in the UK under a Ukraine scheme visa you have:

right to leave;
right to work;
right to study;
access to NHS support;
recourse to public funds (if eligible) for 36 or 18 months depending on your visa.

More detail is on the government’s website here.

3. What will be the consequences if I stay in the UK after the expiration of my visa?

Overstaying your visa can result in serious consequences, including potential removal from the UK, future immigration issues, and difficulties with future visa applications.

4. If I have concerns about the safety of my child, what should I do?

If there are concerns about the safety of children or vulnerable adults, British authorities have mechanisms to intervene, such as child protective services or adult safeguarding measures.

Contact your local children’s social care duty team. They’re available 24 hours a day, and can make an anonymous report if that feels safer.

5. How to apply for the Ukraine scheme outside the UK?

Fill in the application online and attend Visa Application Centre. Prove your identity and provide your documents.

You’ll need to book an appointment to have your photograph and fingerprints taken at a visa application centre (VAC) as part of your application.

Children under the age of 5 will not have their fingerprints taken but will still need to book and attend a VAC appointment and have a digital photograph taken.

At your appointment, you’ll need to prove your identity with any identity documents you may have such as:

a valid passport
a Ukrainian national identity card
a combination of official documents – for example, a photo driving licence and birth certificate -* an emergency certificate issued by a Ukrainian authority since March 2022

For more information including opening hours and appointment booking, please visit the TLS website.

For more information on how to apply for the Ukraine scheme outside the UK from 19.2.2024 visit the government website.

6. What do I have to do to get a BRP plastic card?

If you applied for visa online before 07.12.2023 the procedure for obtaining a BRP plastic card after entering the UK on a “Ukrainian” visa is specified in your visa decision letter. Read this letter carefully, as it will contain information about obtaining a BRP that is applicable to you.
If you applied before 7.12.2023 with ID check, you should collect the BRP card from the post office that has been named on the permission to travel letter within 60 days.
If you applied after 7.12.2023, you need to attend a biometric appointment outside the UK. If you get a positive answer from the Home Office, you will get your vignett, and should collect the BRP card from the post office that has been named during the application.

7. If I did not collect the BRP at the post office within 60 days?

We advise you to go to the post office, as it may not have been sent back yet.

Unfortunately, the Home Office does not provide clear written instructions on what to do when your BRP is returned to them from a post office. If this has happened to you, you can contact us by writing to: [email protected]

8. Can I extend my Ukraine Scheme permit at the end of the 3 years?

The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme will be available to those who have come to the UK through our Ukraine schemes.

This generally means someone who has permission to remain in the UK under either the:

Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine)
Ukraine Family Scheme
Ukraine Extension Scheme

You may also be eligible if you previously had permission to remain under a Ukraine scheme and now hold a valid visa to remain in the UK.

The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme will:

provide an additional 18 months of permission to remain in the UK to eligible applicants
provide the same entitlements as other Ukraine schemes to access work, benefits, healthcare and education
be free to apply for

Applications will open from early 2025.

You will generally be able to apply within the last 3 months of your existing visa. For example, if your existing visa is due to expire in May 2025, you will be able to apply from March 2025.

Further details will be available on this page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-permission-extension-scheme-information/ukraine-permission-extension-scheme-information before the scheme opens.

9. Are there any fees?

No, visas application under all of the three schemes are free through the UK Government.

Similarly, any advice/support given by Settled charity is also free.

10. I am also eligible to make an application under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as the Family Member of someone who is in the UK with (pre-)settled status. What should I do?

We advise that in the first instance you make an application to the Ukraine Family Scheme to enter the UK.

If you’re eligible to make an application under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), you’ll be able to apply to the EUSS once you’re in the UK.

People should not apply to both the Ukraine Family Scheme and the EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit as the Home Office may ask the applicant to choose which application they want to pursue or prioritise one application over another.

For further advice, please contact [email protected]

11. My application has been refused. What should I do now?

There is no right of appeal or right to an administrative review. You should apply again, for free, under the relevant scheme, ensuring that you submit further evidence or a statement that clarifies your personal circumstances.

There are no restrictions to the number of times you can apply for a visa scheme.

For further advice and support relating to refusals, please do contact Settled: [email protected]

12. I have been told that I have been granted a Ukrainian scheme permit for 3 years, but my BRP will expire on 31.12.2024. Why is this?

Most UK biometric residence permit (BRP) cards will expire on 31.12.2024. After this date all immigration statuses will have only digital ‘view and prove’.

However, your permission to stay in the UK will expire on the date that is stated in your permission to travel letter.

13. What should I do if I am not able to enter the UK within 90 days of issuing the vignette visa?

If the 90-day visa vignette expires before the applicant is able to enter the UK, the vignette must be replaced.

Fill out the online form

You will need to visit the visa application centre again and provide biometric data.

The cost of replacing the vignette is £154.

The waiting period for a decision on the extension of the vignette is an average of three weeks from the date of submission of biometric data.

There are currently no exemptions for those applying under the Ukrainian scheme.
If you need help filling out the application, please contact us by email at [email protected] and we will be happy to assist you.

14. Where can I ask for more detailed advice or help?

Settled provides free, immigration advice for Ukrainians and/or their sponsors, and is accredited by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) at Level 3. Our service is multilingual and answers people’s enquiries in their first language. Please see our overview page here.

You can write us an email, in your preferred language, setting out your situation and queries: [email protected]/

We also provide information and answer simple advice queries via our Facebook group which is in Ukrainian. More complex issues are referred to our 1:1 email advice service.

15. What helplines are there

As above, please email us for free on [email protected] where we will be happy to provide free advice in your language. Where necessary, we can also phone you back.

Alternatively, you can contact the government’s UK Visas and Immigration helpline: 0808 164 8810 – select option 1. Opening times: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm. Calls are free of charge.

If you are calling from outside the UK, please call: +44 175 390 7510 – select option 1. You may have to pay – check with your phone provider if you’re not sure. Opening times: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm (GMT).

16. How can I support your work?

Thank you for asking! We are a UK charity, entirely reliant on grants and donations to enable our free, accredited advice. Please read our most recent appeal for more information about what we do and our outcomes, or donate here.

Alternatively, if you speak Ukrainian, have some spare time, and a willingness to be trained and supported to give accredited immigration advice from your home, please consider volunteering with us!

Many thanks again.