A property developer from Sidcup has told the News Shopper of his “disastrous and prolonged attempts” to bring his Ukrainian family to the UK.
Luke Morgan was born in Sidcup and now lives in Longfield in Kent, with his Ukrainian wife and two-year-old son.
Just over a week ago, Luke decided to pause his work in the carpentry business and leave the country to attempt to meet his wife’s Ukrainian family and bring them to safety at his home in Kent.
Boris Johnson has said the UK could take in 200,000 or more Ukrainian refugees as the government extends its help to more people fleeing the war.
The scheme allowing close relatives of Ukrainian people settled in the UK to come over will be widened to include adult parents, grandparents, children over 18 and siblings.
UK firms will also be able to sponsor a Ukrainian entering the country.
The changes follow criticism that the UK is doing less than EU countries.
Luke says the family have been “pushed from pillar to post” after 10 long days of travelling across Europe to sort VISAs and travel documents into the UK.
His Ukrainian family are currently waiting in Brussels after fleeing their home country, whilst Luke is in Paris visiting embassies.
Luke told the News Shopper: “The family is made up of my wife’s mum and her dad, who is in his 60s, my wife’s sister and her three children who are aged two, 11 and 13.
“The whole situation is just unbelievable.
“This has been an ongoing issue since February 26.
“Parliament have said they will let people in from Ukraine with no VISA requirements but in practise, the situation seems to be impossible.
“If I wasn’t here trying to help, my wife’s family would have just fled a war and would be here on their own.”
Luke says it took two days to leave in their flee of Ukraine, with long queues to cross the border.
He explained: “Whilst they were waiting in the queues, there were threats of being bombed.
“The borders closed, and they had to turn all lights off, turn engines off in cars and hide.
“When the threat eventually went away, the borders opened, and they were led through.”
Luke says he arranged to meet the family in Lille, France, to then travel to Calais and board the Eurostar to UK.
He explained: “I was told by lawyers and politicians that the family qualified for entry to the UK, and I was able to provide asylum for them.
“But there wasn't any scheme put in place by the UK Government to actually facilitate it.”
Luke says as they arrived at the Calais border, the family was refused entry and was told to contact a VISA number, to whom he says had “not been told how to process refugees” and asked to call back later.
He added: “I managed to go to the mayor's office in Calais and was introduced to a guy who's a British Consulate – I met him in a Ukrainian refugee centre who helped me submit applications.
“We were then told to visit a VISA centre in Brussels to submit fingerprints and biometrics, but they soon told us they couldn’t see us as we had not booked an appointment.
“The consulate spoke with the centre and four hours later they saw us, but didn’t take any supporting documents, such as birth certificates.
“The centre then said we had to submit the documents in Paris, so the family stayed in Brussels, and I took a train to Paris on Friday (March 4).”
Four days later, Luke says he has still “heard nothing”, and is travelling from embassy to embassy to chase up VISAs for his family in Ukraine.
Luke says the family have “no other place to go” as himself, his wife and child are the only family they have outside of Ukraine.
He said: “The family are distraught, they had to pack up, leave their home and take one bag.
“They’ve left with no belongings and haven’t got much money.
“The men in the family have had to stay in Ukraine and join the army.
“My wife’s uncle is hiding in his basement in Kharkiv – he wasn’t allowed to leave because he’s under 60.
“His house has been bombed; his home has been bombed.
“It’s just insane.”
Luke says his garage is being converted into a bedroom at his home in Kent, where his wife and child are waiting for the arrival of Luke and the Ukrainian family who are thousands of miles away.
Luke has created a GoFundMe page with a target of £10,000.
Luke says all donations will cover provisions for the family and future rent on a small flat or house.
He said: “When people are fleeing their homes, they don't necessarily take copies of bank statements – they’re running for their lives.
“We didn’t expect the process to be so bureaucratic.
“It’s not like they could have stopped in France or Germany – they haven’t got much money and don’t know anyone.
“We’re the only family they have in Europe.”
A Government spokesperson said: “Last week we announced a new sponsorship route which will allow Ukrainians with no family ties to the UK to be sponsored to come to the UK.
“This is alongside our Ukraine Family Scheme, which has already seen thousands of people apply, as well as changes to visas so that people can stay in the UK safely.
“The routes we have put in place follow extensive engagement with Ukrainian partners.
"This is a rapidly moving and complex picture and as the situation develops we will continue to keep our support under constant review.”
You can donate to Luke's GoFundMe here
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