Thousands of Asian, African and Middle Eastern migrants 'granted entry to UK under Ukrainian visas'

By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 01:22, 12 April 2026 | Updated: 01:26, 12 April 2026 Thousands of migrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East have entered Britain under a Government scheme that offers free visas for Ukrainian refugees.  Nearly 3,500 visas have been granted to people from 112 countries, including Iran, Iraq, India, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and Nigeria, under two separate schemes giving refuge to Ukrainians fleeing Russia's full-scale invasion.  Under one option, Ukrainians could come to the UK if they had family living in Britain, or they could enter the country if they had been offered accommodation under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship programme. The number of visas given to non-Ukrainians is now almost one in every 80 of the 279,223 applications granted by the Government.  Russians make up the biggest number of non-Ukrainians to have entered the UK under the visa scheme, at 588, while Nigerians made up 408, Afghans 294, Iraqis 161, Indians 124 and Iranians 107.  Other nationalities entering Britain under the Ukrainian visa scheme included Ghanaians, Syrians, Libyans, Chileans and Argentinians. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip said: 'The Government should not be allowing non-Ukrainians into the UK under the Ukrainian visa scheme. 'It is supposed to be for Ukrainians, not Afghans and Iraqis.' Thousands of migrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East have entered Britain under a Government scheme that offers free visas for Ukrainian refugees Nearly 3,500 visas were issued to non-Ukranian migrants under a scheme designed to alllow entry to Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia's full-scale invasion. Pictured: Ukrainian refufees take shelter in a school in Przemysl, near the Ukrainian-Polish borders on March 14, 2022 A Home Office spokesman said: 'The Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme is primarily for Ukrainian nationals.  'Third-country nationals can only be eligible if they apply as part of a family group, which must include an immediate family member who is a Ukrainian national, and they must apply at the same time. 'The Ukraine schemes remain temporary, in line with the Ukrainian government's strong desire for the future return of its citizens, and do not lead to settlement.' The recent Home Office data, analysed by The Telegraph, comes after a Palestinian family fleeing the war in Gaza won a court ruling last year allowing them to come to Britain through the Ukrainian refugee scheme. The family argued that they should be allowed entry to the UK and live with a relative under the Ukrainian visa scheme because there was no other way for them to seek refuge in Britain. Philip argued that in this case, the European Convention of Human Rights had been abused to allow the Ukrainian scheme to be 'twisted into a route for Palestinians to come to the UK.'  The Ukrainian visa schemes were set up by the previous government, but have continued under Labour. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.