I’m helping Ukrainians to get UK visas, but they can’t find out the decision

theguardian.com:

I am acting on behalf of a family of four Ukrainians who are trying to apply for visas via the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. Each family member has to apply individually and the visa decision is sent by email only. Unlikeother nationalities, Ukrainians can’t track their applications via the government’s UK Visas and Immigrationwebsite. One has received their permission to travel letter, but the other three have had their email accounts blocked or suspended, possibly for security reasons because they have been accessed from different places in different countries over a short space of time. They are therefore unable to receive their visa decision. I’ve rung the helpline and was told that there is no alternative other than contacting the email providers, hoping they resume the service.KK, Grays, Essex

This stumbling block in an already shambolic system has also been raised by Londoner, SH, who is sponsoring a Ukrainian mother and her eight-year-old son under the government scheme. “They applied for visas on the day that applications opened three weeks ago,” she writes. “Since then they have received no updates on the son’s status. The Home Office helpline told me there were problems with their email systems. Since decisions are communicated by email, individuals who have had visas approved may not even know.”

The Home Office confirmed to me that Ukrainians were unable to check the progress of their visa applications via the government website, although it would not give the reason. Instead, those who hold a valid passport must wait up to three weeks for emailed notification that their permission to travel letter has been issued. Since the government has warned them not to make travel arrangements to the UK until the letter