No 10 announced that hundreds of refugees who had travelled to the French town in the hope of reaching loved ones in Britain would have to make a 70-mile journey to Lille to apply for visas, despite previous suggestions that there would be a visa centre closer to the port. The Home Office has said that Ukrainian refugees can take free tickets offered by Eurostar to make the journey from Calais to Lille – but there are no journeys available on the Eurostar website between these two locations.
Concern meanwhile mounted around the bureaucratic process refugees are confronted with when trying to apply under the UK’s family migration route, as it emerged some are having to wait weeks to get a visa appointment, while others turned up to visa centres to discover that they were closed.
A lack of available appointment slots at visa centres in EU countries has meant some refugees are not currently able to apply for the new refugee scheme, under which Ms Patel has said tens of thousands of close relatives of British nationals and people settled in the UK will be eligible to come to Britain after it opened on Friday. MPs said there were no appointments in Paris until 15 March and none in Poland until the “end of the month”. The Independent has been in touch with Ukrainians who have said they have been unable to book an appointment. The Home Office has insisted that there are free appointments.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin March 09, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin March 09, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Wales block Turkish flair for resilient away draw
Wales maintained their unbeaten record under Craig Bellamy in a 0-0 Nations League draw with Turkey after Kerem Akturkoglu sent his 89th-minute penalty against a post.
'There's still a lot of credit in the bank with Warren'
Ex-Wales captain Sam Warburton believes there are reasons for optimism heading into today's game with Australia
Mighty Springboks too strong for valiant England
For England, a familiar tale of mistakes and missteps; for South Africa, another day at the ‘Boks office.
Pentagon report reveals hundreds of UFO sightings
The Pentagon's latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin.
Musk wants public to have say on selection of ministers
As US president-elect Donald Trump makes several choices to fill out his incoming administration's cabinet, the lobbying for key positions has been fierce behind closed doors - and sometimes publicly.
Decoy drones and vacuum bombs terrorise Ukraine
In a secret factory in central Russia, engineers are manufacturing hundreds of decoy drones meant to overwhelm Ukrainian defences as they try to protect against a horrific new weapon.
Zelensky says Trump will make the war end sooner’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is certain the war with Russia will “end sooner” once Donald Trump returns to the White House.
'However many troops they lose, they just keep coming'
Ukraine is under pressure, from Donetsk to Kharkiv - while Putin wants to reclaim Russia's Kursk region before Trump takes office. Askold Krushelnycky talks to officers in the field
Police investigate columnist for 'inciting racial hatred'
Essex Police are investigating an alleged crime of inciting racial hatred by The Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson after she published a message on X/Twitter labelling protesters as \"Jew haters\".
Britons warned of dangers of cut-price surgery abroad
Wes Streeting has promised to protect Britons travelling abroad for Brazilian butt lifts (BBLS) and other cosmetic surgeries.
