English edition of The Times establishedthat refugees from Ukraine who are looking for housing in the UK using social networks receive offers from men offering them intimate relationships in exchange for accommodation.
The journalist of the publication created a post on social networks on behalf of 22-year-old Natalia from Kyiv and, according to the Times, received many “obscene and sexually suggestive messages from men seeking relationships” within minutes. In two days, there were 75 such messages, 41 of them from single men.
According to the publication, some men wrote that they have housing with several bedrooms, although in fact this is a lie. Some even offered “Natalya” to sleep in the same bed, while someone started correspondence with a question regarding the girl’s marriage or relationship. One of the men wrote that he did not want to be a sponsor (for a visa under the sponsorship scheme) if the girl was not ready for sexual relations.
As of April 7, 2022, 79.8 thousand applications were received in Britain under the Ukrainian visa issuance scheme, of which 36.3 thousand were family and 43.6 thousand were sponsored. At the same time, 28.5 thousand visas were issued under the family scheme, and 12.5 thousand under the sponsorship scheme.
Visas under the family scheme for refugees from Ukraine are free of charge, issued for a period of three years and allow you to work and study, receive assistance from state funds. Such visas are issued to those who have relatives in the UK. Sponsor visas are received by those whom the British are ready to accept in their home.