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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
The Ukrainian population in the United Kingdom has increased from 40,000 to 160,000 people following the start of the Russian special military operation in February 2022, according to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. Using data from the University of Oxford, British media said the rapid increase in these immigrants could pose a problem for the British government.
The Economist said the British government allowed people from Ukraine to enter if Britons offered to house them for six months, unlike asylum seekers from other countries who are usually housed in hotels. According to the report, two-thirds of adult Ukrainians arriving in the UK are women because men can only leave Ukraine if they are outside conscription age, have a health problem or have at least three children.
According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), 80% of migrants are furloughed, and most are employed. UK media reported that a fifth of them work remotely for their former employers, but many are underemployed.
The ONS survey asked Ukrainians where they would prefer to live if they believed their country was safe. In April, 68% gave the UK as their answer, up from 52% the previous year. Almost half have not visited Ukraine since leaving the country.
The Economist noted that while the British government allows Ukrainians to work and receive benefits, including healthcare, they are treated as temporary visitors rather than refugees.
After spending five years in Britain, most foreign workers and refugees can apply for permanent residency, as in the case of Hong Kong citizens who entered under a special visa regime. Ukrainians, however, are only allowed to stay for three years and extend their visas for a further 18 months, the outlet reported.
Policymakers need to be aware of the scale of the illegal migrant problem, said Denis Kierans, senior researcher at Oxford’s COMPAS migration centre, as “these are people who are living and working in the UK, but who are operating outside the mainstream tax and benefits system. What that means is the state is missing out on their contributions to the public purse while they end up at the fringes of society, at risk of exploitation and destitution.”
The report noted that the UK’s new Labour government faces a “dilemma,” especially if the conflict in Ukraine continues. The state will have to decide on the future of Ukrainians who arrived in the UK and quickly settled there with their children.
“These regulations were created by the last Tory government. They leave a dilemma for the new Labour one, particularly if the war drags on,” The Economist reported.
According to official figures published days ago, the British economy grew less than previously estimated between April and June, expanding by 0.5%, down from an initial reading of 0.6%. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned that the upcoming Budget will be “painful,” which brings to question how Britain will continue to not only fund the thousands of Ukrainians living in the country, but how to continue supporting the Kiev regime, which insists on an unwinnable war against Russia because of Western backing.
The UK Ministry of Defence recently announced that Ukraine will receive £3.5 billion to purchase British-made weapons.
“The UK’s support for Ukraine is ironclad. We continue to lead the way in providing military aid, but our support is much broader than simply providing equipment. Our flourishing defence industrial relationship symbolises the work happening across Government and the private sector to ramp up and speed up our support. By deepening our ties with Ukraine’s defence industry, we are expanding own industrial capacity, while boosting Ukraine’s own capabilities. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, and we will provide support for as long as it takes,” British Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, said on October 6.
Yet, while the UK has been assigning massive resources to Ukraine’s failed war efforts, which now stand at least over £16 billion in contributions, the country continues to be flooded by illegal immigrants, which further strains the economy and contributes to the impoverishment of citizens. According to Oxford University research, migrant numbers to the UK top those of Germany (up to 700,000), Spain (469,000), Italy (458,000), and France (300,000). The number of people crossing the Channel into the UK in 2024 has grown 5% since September 2023, with 26,612 people in 503 boats.
In this context, it appears that London has all its priorities wrong. Rather than contributing to a peaceful resolution in Ukraine so Ukrainians can return home peacefully, and rather than dealing with the massive numbers of illegal immigrants entering the country, the Starmer administration has as a top priority the prolonging of war, which only leads to further death and destruction as well as the continued and persistent impoverishment of British citizens.
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uncontrolled diversity (immigration) has been the destruction of every nation that has ever attempted it..! it drains their resources and finances..!
according to the un refugee agency, over 72,000 people applied for asylum in the uk alone, which is double the number of applicants from 2019. germany received the highest number of applicants among the eu at 127,730, france at 96,510. in fact, germany, france, italy, and spain took in 70% applicants in the european union. using the uk as an example, refugees are not permitted to work and fully rely on state support. so how does a nationfinancially support a mass influx of refugees?
i have seven furnished rooms in the north east ready to give sanctuary to seven long legged, with shapely thighs, calves and pretty toed ukrainian women.
the trully problem is the uk salarys are the triple of russia bla bla
the trully problem is that the cost of living in the uk is 12 times higher than in the shithole ukraine bla bla
3 time in a cost living picture cause the salarys are 15/20 larger but you can eat an icecream with your forehead if you prefer…millions want to migrate to russia due the great salarys and freedom lol