Visa holders entering the UK under the Ukraine Humanitarian Schemes: 27 April to 15 May 2023

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• New data from the UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey show that most adults (70%) described their personal connection to the UK as being "somewhat strong" or "very strong".

• Half of adults (52%) intend to live in the UK most of the time when they feel it is safe to return to Ukraine, mainly because there are "more opportunities for work here" (60%).

• The majority of people are satisfied with the public services they have used; for those who have used English language courses (49%), the majority were very or fairly satisfied (86%). 

• About a third (34%) of adults have changed address since coming to the UK, most commonly because they can now afford to live in their own accommodation without being hosted (25%).

• Of those who intend to move address within the UK in the next year (28%), about half (51%) would only move within the same region they are currently living in. 

• Over half (58%) of adults work in a different sector in the UK, compared with the sector in which they were working in Ukraine.

Between March and May 2022, the UK government launched three visa schemes to support those displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. These schemes, referred to as Ukraine Humanitarian Schemes, allow those who have lived in Ukraine, and their family members, to apply to stay in the UK for up to three years. More information on the types of visa schemes and collecting the data can be found in Section 8: Glossary and Section 9: Measuring the data. 

This latest survey adds to the evidence base of individuals' experiences and needs, which can be used to identify ways to best support this group.  

Unless specified otherwise, the weighted statistics in this bulletin are based on respondents who were in the UK at the time of the survey or were outside of the UK temporarily (for example, on a holiday). 

We advise against making direct comparisons between different waves of the UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey. This is because the majority of people surveyed in Wave 3 have been in the UK for much longer than those surveyed in previous waves, so we would expect different experiences, and therefore different responses.

New data from the UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey show that most adults (70%) described their personal connection to the UK as being "somewhat strong" or "very strong". When asked to think about a future in which they feel it is safe to return to Ukraine, half of adults (52%) intend to live in the UK most of the time. Of those adults, most reported a very or somewhat strong connection to the UK (80%), above the all adults average of 70%.

The most common reasons given for intending to stay in the UK were: 

• more opportunities for work here (60%) 

• wanting to be in an English-speaking country (48%)  

• quality of life is better in the UK than it will be in Ukraine (47%)  

There are some characteristics which suggested someone was more likely to report intending to live in the UK, even when Ukraine is considered safe. These are people who: 

• are aged between 18 and 49 years 

• pay for their own accommodation 

• are employed or self-employed 

• are proficient in English

Less than a third (28%) of adults intend to return to Ukraine when they feel it is safe to do so. Of those who do intend to return, the majority would leave the UK as soon as they felt it was safe to (68%).  

For those who do not know which country they intend to live in most of the time, the majority said greater clarity for visa options for staying in the UK (60%) and more information on what life would be like in Ukraine (53%) would help them to decide.

The majority of people are satisfied with the public services they have used. For those who have used English language courses (49%), the majority were very or fairly satisfied (86%). Of adults who have not used English language courses, most reported not needing to access this service (39%) but others also reported they did not know how to access the service (23%).  

Some adults have experienced barriers in accessing public services in the UK. Around 1 in 5 adults (22%) who were receiving regular prescriptions for medication in Ukraine reported experiencing barriers to accessing prescription medication in the UK. Of adults who were receiving regular healthcare treatment in Ukraine (32%), 7 in 10 (70%) have not had this treatment continue since arriving in the UK.

The least commonly used public service was mental health services (96% have not used it). Most adults who did not use mental health services reported they did not need to access this service (70%), which suggests that some would benefit from accessing the service but have not been able to. The barriers most commonly reported are:  

• not knowing how to access the service (8%) 

• not being aware of the service (7%) 

• not speaking or reading English well enough to use the service (5%)

Most adults (91%) were very or fairly satisfied with their accommodation. Adults on the Homes for Ukraine scheme were more likely to be satisfied with their accommodation (92%), compared with those on the Ukraine Family Scheme (87%).  

About a third (34%) of adults have changed address since coming to the UK, most commonly because they can now afford to live in their own accommodation without being hosted (25%). Around 1 in 10 adults (13%) reported that they had been rehoused into temporary accommodation provided by the council as a factor for changing address.

Of those who intend to move address within the UK in the next year (28%), about half (51%) would only move within the same region they are currently living in. Just over half of adults living with dependent children reported that they would only consider moving within the same region (56%), compared with half (49%) of those living without dependent children.  

The most common reason reported by those who intend to move address was for better employment opportunities (42%). Around a fifth (22%) of adults who intend to change address stated that the reason is because their hosting period is reaching an end.

Most adults were working (employed or self-employed) when in Ukraine (77%), compared with 52% of adults now working in the UK. Fewer adults (3%) were unemployed and actively seeking work when in Ukraine, compared with a quarter (26%) of adults now unemployed in the UK. Of those not currently working in the UK, most (63%) were very likely or likely to look for work in the next 30 days, and around two-in-three of them would look specifically for full-time employment (65%).

A higher proportion of adults on the Homes for Ukraine scheme were employed or self-employed in the UK (55%) compared with those on the Ukraine Family Scheme (46%). A lower proportion of adults on the Homes for Ukraine scheme were economically inactive (18%) compared with those on the Ukraine Family Scheme (31%).  

Over half (58%) of adults work in a different sector in the UK, compared with the sector in which they were working in Ukraine. The most common industries for those working in the UK are hospitality (26%), manufacturing or construction (13%) and food production such as agriculture and farming (10%). In Ukraine, the most common industries adults worked in were teaching and education (12%), information technology and communication (12%) and retail (12%).  

More males (52%) work in the same sector as they did in Ukraine, compared with females (36%).

Some adults reported that they work in a sector not specified on the survey in the UK (20%) and in Ukraine (13%).   

Ukraine Family Scheme  

The Ukraine Family Scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK, if they were originally only given permission to stay for six months. 

Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme 

The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have a named sponsor (in Wales and Scotland this includes those sponsored directly by the Welsh Government or Scottish Government).  

Ukraine Extension Scheme 

The Ukraine Extension Scheme allows Ukrainian nationals or close family members of Ukrainian nationals to live, work and study in the UK. They must have held permission to be in the UK between March and May 2022 or have previously held permission to be in the UK and that permission expired on or after 1 January 2022. The Ukraine Extension Scheme does not require a UK based sponsor.

Survey estimates 

The data were collected between 27 April and 15 May 2023. Over 44,500 adults were invited to take part in the survey and 10,709 responded. The response rate was 24%. 

Adults invited to take part were aged 18 years and over at the point of the survey, had been granted a visa under the Ukraine Family Scheme, Homes for Ukraine scheme or Ukraine Extension Scheme and arrived in the UK at one of the following points in time: 

• between 1 March and 15 June 2022 and had not previously participated in the UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey (UKHRIS) 

• between 15 June 2022 and 25 April 2023 

• before 1 March 2022 and are on the Ukraine Extension Scheme 

Respondents were contacted by email and invited to take part in the survey. In many cases, groups of applicants (for example, families) had used a single email address on multiple visa applications. Only one invitation was sent to each email address. This means that, where applications shared an email address, only one individual would be able to respond to the survey. This introduces bias in the results.  

A small number of respondents were incorrectly included in the sample as they had not yet entered the UK. These people were removed from the analysis, because the survey does not apply to them. 

The statistics presented in this bulletin are Experimental Statistics and contain uncertainty; therefore, care needs to be taken when interpreting them. 

The survey was available in English and Ukrainian. For those who required support to complete the survey online, or needed translation to a different language, telephone interviewers and translators were available. 

Percentages in this bulletin are based on weighted counts that are applied to be broadly representative of the population surveyed. They are adjusted to address age, sex, and visa scheme bias in response. As with all surveys, these estimates have an associated margin of error.

The main strengths of the UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey include that: 

• the timely production of data and statistics that can respond quickly to changes, aiding local and national planning 

• quality assurance procedures that are undertaken throughout the analysis stages to minimise the risk of error 

• confidence intervals that are available in the accompanying datasets as an assessment of uncertainty 

• responses that have been weighted by age, sex, and scheme to mitigate bias and to allow results to be broadly representative of our study population 

The main limitations of the UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey include that: 

• the survey and supporting material were available in English and Ukrainian but not translated into Russian  

• it was completed online and while telephone interviews could be conducted in another language upon request, the lack of translation or internet accessibility may have been a barrier for people who did not respond 

• the survey was designed in a relatively simple way to encourage response, meaning that not all areas of interest could be covered in-depth 

• in some cases, groups of applicants (for example, families) had used a single email address on multiple visa applications and only one invitation was sent to each email address; this means that bias was introduced as where applications shared an email address, only one individual would be able to respond to the survey 

• weighting reduces non-response bias but cannot eliminate it completely

The survey was compiled rapidly to help inform the UK's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and to aid local and national emergency response planning.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) conducted this survey in collaboration with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Home Office.

Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 7 July 2023, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Visa holders entering the UK under the Ukraine Humanitarian Schemes: 27 April to 15 May 2023