British families frustrated by Home Office red tape have revealed their fury at a 'broken' Homes for Ukraine application process that sees children asked if they are security threats and fathers fighting on the front line made to fill out consent forms.
Kind-hearted hosts from across the UK have told MailOnline of how their efforts to open their homes have been hit with snags as thousands of desperate refugees remain stuck in limbo.
The Government has come under fire for the slow processing of visa applications as Ukrainian evacuees, some as young as seven and travelling just with their siblings, are stuck in neighbouring countries with little money and no food or spare clothes.
Of further concern to hosts is the cumbersome 50-page application process, which asks schoolchildren to divulge if they have ever been considered a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom.
Some hosts claim their sponsorship forms were 'lost', while other horror stories reveal visa applications for the same family saw one half allowed to come to the UK, while the other half were left waiting for a reply for a week.
Meanwhile, another host from Manchester told MailOnline how the pair of Ukrainian girls his family hope to sponsor were asked, as part of the visa application, to attach a letter of consent from their father - who was conscripted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the start of the war.
Of further concern to hosts is the cumbersome 50-page application process, which asks schoolchildren to divulge if they have ever been considered a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom
Another host from Manchester told MailOnline how the pair of Ukrainian girls his family hope to sponsor were asked, as part of the visa application, to attach a letter of consent from their father - who was conscripted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the start of the war
Last month, the Government announced the launch of the Homes for Ukraine scheme which will pay families £350-a-month to take in those fleeing Russian brutality for at least six months.
Within hours of the scheme launching, the website for registering interest had crashed and subsequently more than 200,000 people signed up to the programme.
Dr Paul Murray, a consultant scientist based in Bristol, has called on senior ministers and civil servants to quit
Some 10,800 people had arrived under the Ukraine family scheme but only 1,200 had made it to the UK as part of the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme since Tuesday, April 5, provisional data published on the department's website showed.
Dr Paul Murray, a consultant scientist based in Bristol, hopes to house Ukrainian lawyer Yevheniaa Filippova, her son Lev, nine, and daughter Nelly, two, who are fleeing from port city of Odessa.
He thinks senior ministers and civil servants should offer their resignations in the face of the 'national embarrassment' that is the Homes for Ukraine visa scheme.
'These are women and children who are vulnerable and need protecting', he told MailOnline.
'The incompetence is astounding. It is time for some senior civil servants and ministers to go. Don’t they understand the situation for these refugees?
'The constant messaging of "we are simplifying the process", and "they don’t need to go to a visa centre" is all bull****. This family break down in tears every time they call me because they’re stuck.
‘This system is broken, and it's absolutely ridiculous. People must lose their jobs over this.'
Ukrainian lawyer Yevheniaa Filippova, 39, and her daughter Nelly, 2, fled the port city of Odessa on the Black Sea, which has come under fire from Russian rockets in recent weeks
Lev, nine, and Nelly have fled invading Russian troops in the west of Ukraine
Other examples of the bureaucratic web that has delayed countless Homes for Ukraine applications have come to light in recent days.
Compliance manager Andy Johnston and his family first submitted their applications to house two Ukrainian girls, Oleksandra, aged 15 and Anastasiia, 19, in their Manchester home four weeks ago.
The girls' father was signed up to stay and fight for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the start of the Russian invasion, meaning the sisters had to travel to Poland alone.
Because Oleksandra doesn't own a passport, she was asked to travel to a visa processing centre hundreds of miles away in Warsaw, where she provided her evidence on March 31.
Compliance manager Andy Johnston (pictured) and his family first submitted their applications to house two Ukrainian girls in their Manchester home four weeks ago
Ukrainian refugees Oleksandra, and Anastasiia, 19, (right) are stuck in Poland with their supply of money, food and clothes rapidly running out
Included within Oleksandra's forms was a question asking her to provide a letter of consent for her travel, authorised by a parent or guardian, before she could come to the UK.
But as they wait for the results of her application, the girls are now stuck in Poland with no money, food or spare clothes, Andy explains.
'It's a really worrying situation', he tells MailOnline.
'We sent them some money to help them get to Poland, and now we're going to have to send them some more to help support them with the essentials.
'It has been 26 days since our initial priority application was submitted and we've not had any updates on their applications at all. It's shocking really.'
Responding to the parental letters of consent, a Government spokesperson told MailOnline: 'The safety and wellbeing of asylum seeking children is paramount. Due to safeguarding requirements, unaccompanied minors are not currently eligible for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.'
Home Secretary Priti Patel has been forced to apologise over delays to
