Overwhelmingly, Ukrainians in the UK are feeling unsettled about the fact that their visa is approaching the halfway mark – 90% in total are either “very” or “slightly” unsettled. Fewer than 10% said they felt relatively settled about the prospect.

When asked how visa length affected their lives, more than two-thirds (67%) said that it affected their ability to find a job or employment. This was followed by their (in)ability to learn English (42%) and school decisions for children (41%). All three aspects directly affect how well any migrant can integrate into and contribute to the British society and economy.

Three in five (60%) Ukrainians in the UK would feel “very relieved” if the scheme were extended even just by one year. A further 29% of respondents would feel ‘slightly relieved’.

In response to how the upcoming end of the Homes for Ukraine visa has affected lives, one respondent said they feel, “very unstable. Impossible to plan our lives with my fiancée. As it’s still very unsafe to return to Ukraine feeling like we can be thrown out of UK at any moment is severely unpleasant. I’m renting a flat and have become a sponsor for my 58 y.o. mother. I wanted to bring her to the UK, to safety, take out from under missile attacks in Ukraine. So it’s lives of two more people I’m responsible for now and not knowing the future is daunting.”

Some also responded that the lack of certainty dramatically affected their housing status, particularly their lacking ability to buy a home in the UK. For example, one noted that ‘My house in Ukraine was burned by the Russians, and here I do not have the right to get/buy/build my own home due to lack of future status. Renting requires spending a third of my income that I could invest in my own home if I had the right to buy’.

Many noted that they simply weren’t able to ‘plan their lives’ due to their lack of long term certainty. They long for a longer-term solution so that they can plan housing and family life. For example, one respondent said, “I am really worried that our visas may not be prolonged. I cannot plan anything in the long term perspective. We have just started settling down a bit: my older son and I got the jobs, rented the place to live independently but we cannot plan our future because our further visa status is unclear.”