TEN Ukrainian Islanders have made requests to relocate relatives to Jersey amid desperate attempts to flee the war-torn country following Russia’s invasion.
Earlier this week the government confirmed that it would be able to shelter refugees, providing they had immediate family living here.
A specialist taskforce was also established to provide help and support.
Yesterday, Deputy Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham said that a number of applications had already been received. He said: ‘There have so far been ten queries from people living here who would like to accommodate family members temporarily.
‘There is already a system whereby a close family member of Ukrainian residents can join them in the UK and Jersey, and this will be expedited. Visas can be issued free of charge within 24 hours of application from any visa application centre.
‘Any Ukrainians in Jersey on a work, study or visiting visa will have their stays temporarily extended. And this aligns again with the same actions in the UK.’
The expedited and free visa system for Ukrainians started on 17 February.
External Relations Minister Ian Gorst said each case would be treated individually.
‘We’ve had so far, over the course of 24 hours, ten contacts there. Each one is individual. Some need the support of the British consulate out there,’ he said. ‘Most of them have been saying that they can actually travel not by air, of course, either by train or car and they can get to Poland. That’s not the issue.
‘The issue is that they don’t have a visa that allows them to enter the UK and therefore Jersey. The message is that they really should contact the email address that we have issued, and we will deal with each one on an individual basis.’
Senator Farnham added that he would like to discourage anti-Russian sentiment.
‘This is not a war of the Russian people, but a war of the Kremlin and Putin,’ he said. ‘We’ve seen by the demonstrations by Russian citizens that not all are in favour of Putin’s actions and we do have Russian nationals living and abiding with us here on the Island as well.
‘We have a duty of care to them and we’re very keen to discourage any citizens or Islanders from participating in anti-Russian rhetoric because not everything that is Russian is bad.’
He added that the government had established emergency structures to deal with the crisis.
