UK visa support for Ukrainian nationals: your 2026 guide

Ukraine visa schemes at a glance

The UK has run a set of distinct schemes for Ukrainian nationals since the Russian invasion in 2022. Some routes are still open, others have closed to new applications but continue to count as qualifying permission for onward extension. Knowing which scheme you currently hold — or whether you can still apply to one — determines what you can do next.

Source: GOV.UK Home Office guidance, April 2026.

Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme

The Homes for Ukraine route remains the main entry scheme for Ukrainian nationals outside the UK. It allows applicants to apply for permission to come to the UK if they have an approved sponsor able to provide accommodation for at least six months.

Applicants must be Ukrainian nationals or immediate family members of a Ukrainian national who holds, or qualifies for, Homes for Ukraine permission. They must have been living in Ukraine on or immediately before 1 January 2022 (with the narrow exception of children born after that date), and they must be outside the UK when applying.

Sponsors must be British or Irish citizens, or people settled in the UK. There is one important exception: Ukrainian parents or legal guardians who themselves hold Ukraine Scheme permission can sponsor their own child — they do not need to be British, Irish, or settled to do so.

Applications are free. Successful applicants get 18 months' permission to live, work, study, and access public funds in the UK. Everyone, including children travelling with family, needs a separate application.

The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme

UPE is the route for Ukrainian nationals (and their eligible family members) who already hold, or have held, permission under one of the earlier Ukraine Schemes. It is the mechanism by which people who arrived on a Homes for Ukraine, Ukraine Family, or Ukraine Extension visa can continue to remain in the UK lawfully.

A first UPE grant gives 18 months. When that expires, a second UPE grant is available for a further 24 months — so someone moving through both stages has up to 42 months of UPE permission in total, on top of their original Ukraine Scheme grant.

The 90-day rule, clarified in April 2026

You can apply for UPE up to 90 days before your current permission expires. The Home Office confirmed on 8 April 2026 that this 90-day window applies to both first and second UPE applications — a change that removed earlier ambiguity about timing the second extension.

Applying early does not cost you time. Any valid permission left on your current grant is added to your new UPE grant, so there is no penalty for applying on day 89 rather than day 1. What you must avoid is applying before the 90-day window opens — an early application will be rejected (though you can reapply without paying a fee, since UPE is free anyway).

Who qualifies for UPE

To apply for UPE, you must:

• Hold, or previously have held, permission under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, Ukraine Family Scheme, or Ukraine Extension Scheme — or leave granted outside the Immigration Rules in certain circumstances related to the conflict.
• Be inside the UK when you apply.
• Have been living in the UK (or the Islands — Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man) since being granted, or arriving with, Ukraine Scheme permission.

Short visits outside the UK, and temporary periods (under 12 months) in Ukraine, generally do not count as living outside the UK. Longer absences from the UK trigger case-by-case consideration: you will be asked to show ongoing ties — employment, tenancy, council contact, utility bills, school enrolment, bank statements showing regular UK activity — and the Home Office will assess whether those absences break your qualifying residence.

Non-Ukrainian family members

If you are not a Ukrainian national but were granted Ukraine Scheme permission as a family member, you can apply for UPE in your own right if you were the partner, child, or parent of a Ukrainian national (including those on a now-closed Ukraine Family Scheme visa), or a carer of a child with Ukraine scheme permission.

Partners, spouses, and civil partners will generally need to show the relationship is still subsisting. If you have separated, you may still qualify for UPE as the parent or legal guardian of a child who holds, or would qualify for, Ukraine Scheme permission.

Applying for a child under 18

Children must be in the UK with a parent, legal guardian, close relative, or an adult who has taken day-to-day caring responsibility — or be in the care of a local authority. Applications must include the child's birth certificate showing the parents' details, along with the parent or legal guardian's nationality or identity documentation and evidence of their immigration status (eVisa share code or Unique Application Number).

Children born in the UK to Ukrainian nationals with Ukraine Scheme permission can be added to UPE from birth. Their permission is usually aligned with whichever parent has the longer remaining leave. Without a UPE or equivalent grant, NHS treatment charges can start to apply three months after a child's birth.

What UPE costs

It is free. No application fee, no biometric enrolment fee, no Immigration Health Surcharge. Successful applicants retain free NHS access throughout their UPE permission — a significant ongoing benefit compared to most UK work and family visa routes.

Switching to another UK visa route

UPE is not the only option for Ukrainians already in the UK. If your long-term plans are shifting — a permanent UK job, a UK degree, a British partner — switching to another immigration route can be a better fit, particularly because most other routes can lead to settlement in a way UPE does not.

Ukrainians can switch from their current visa to a different one, even from routes that do not normally permit in-country switching. This flexibility is specific to Ukrainian nationals and sits alongside the standard rules.

Skilled Worker visa

If you have a job offer from a licensed Skilled Worker sponsor and meet the salary threshold, you can apply to switch to a Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK. A Skilled Worker visa opens the door to Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years of continuous qualifying residence.

Unlike UPE, a Skilled Worker application involves a standard visa fee, the Immigration Skills Charge (paid by the sponsor), and the Immigration Health Surcharge. If you are already on a Skilled Worker visa that is due to expire, you can apply to extend it or apply for settlement if you meet the Immigration Rules.

Student and Graduate visas

Ukrainians on a Student visa that is due to expire can apply to extend it, switch to a Graduate visa if they have completed an eligible UK degree, or switch to another route such as Skilled Worker where they meet the requirements. Graduate visas last 2 years (3 for PhD holders) and allow work at any skill level during that period, which makes them a useful bridge into longer-term UK status.

Visitor visa

If you are in the UK on a visitor visa and cannot safely return to Ukraine, you may be able to switch to another route — but you will need to meet the full requirements of that route. Visitor-to-work or visitor-to-family switching is rarely straightforward, and regulated advice is particularly valuable before choosing this path.

Seasonal Worker visa

Seasonal Worker visa holders must continue working in a permitted role with the same Scheme Operator (their sponsor). You may be eligible to apply under another route before your visa expires. If you previously held Ukraine Scheme permission, UPE may still be open to you — check the eligibility criteria in the UPE section above.

eVisas and biometric residence permits

The UK has replaced physical immigration documents with eVisas — an online record of your status accessed through your UKVI account. Your eVisa is what you use to travel to the UK, prove your right to work or rent, and share your status with employers, landlords, and public services through the view and prove service.

Biometric residence permits (BRPs) are no longer valid for travel. If you previously held a Ukraine Scheme visa you may have been issued one — keep it safe regardless, because the Home Office may ask for it during your UPE application, and it may allow you to reuse previously captured biometrics and skip a UKVCAS appointment.

After you apply

Once your UPE application is submitted and your identity and documents are in, the Home Office considers the case. The target decision time is eight weeks, though complex cases can take longer.

If your current permission expires while you are waiting, Section 3C leave automatically continues your rights to work, rent, and claim benefits until a decision is made. Your eVisa will show the dates of your previous permission plus a note confirming you can remain in the UK pending the decision. You can generate a share code through the view and prove service to give employers and landlords evidence of your continuing status.

Permission-to-travel letters

Early in the Ukraine schemes, before biometric enrolment became standard, some applicants were issued permission-to-travel letters instead of full visas. These letters are no longer valid for travel or entry to the UK.

If you hold a permission-to-travel letter and still want to come to the UK, you need to submit a fresh Homes for Ukraine application. If you travelled on one and did not apply to stay in the UK before 9:00am on 13 August 2025, you can no longer apply under the Ukraine schemes. You would need to explore other UK immigration routes — ideally with regulated advice.

Getting regulated immigration advice

Only advisers authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) can submit immigration applications on your behalf. Unregulated organisations and volunteers are allowed to help in limited ways:

• Explaining what an application form is asking for and entering your responses.
• Translating forms or official guidance.
• Helping you understand document submission instructions.

They cannot, however, submit an application on your behalf. If someone not authorised by the IAA offers to do so, that is a sign to step back. The IAA maintains a searchable directory of qualified immigration advisers; the UK Visas and Immigration helpline can also direct you to support if your situation is urgent.

What to do next

If your current Ukraine Scheme permission is within 90 days of expiring, your immediate step is to log into your UKVI account, confirm the exact expiry date, and start a UPE application. The process is free, most applicants can verify their identity using the UK Immigration: ID check app without a UKVCAS appointment, and Section 3C leave protects your existing rights if the decision comes through after your current permission ends.

If you have been in the UK long enough to be thinking about settlement — a British partner, a permanent role with a licensed sponsor, or a completed UK degree — UPE is not your only option. Switching to Skilled Worker, Graduate, or a family route can set up a path to Indefinite Leave to Remain that UPE itself does not currently offer. The trade-off is cost: those routes carry full visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge. UPE remains free.

For anyone whose situation is unusual — long periods spent outside the UK, a missing passport, separated family circumstances, or a permission-to-travel letter that was never converted — regulated advice through an IAA adviser is worth the cost. The UK's Ukraine schemes have shifted several times since 2022, and the guidance will continue to change. This page is updated to reflect the April 2026 position, and we keep a running news thread on further immigration changes as they happen.