About the Project

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Support for Displaced Ukrainians: Culture, Work and Education

Project Team: Professor Sara Jones, Dr Irina Kuznetsova, Dr Natalia Kogut

Support for Displaced Ukrainians brings together the research completed in Post-Socialist Britain with two other projects in which team members were involved: Futures of Ukraine and Effectiveness of Support for Displaced Ukrainians. The work has been supported by the University of Birmingham AHRC Impact Acceleration Account and the Birmingham Institutional Impact Fund.

Ukraine Visa Schemes

Our research with the Ukrainian community in the UK has highlighted the anxiety and practical difficulties caused by the precarious visa status of those who arrived in the UK following the Russian full-scale invasion. The conditions surrounding the Ukraine Permission Extension and the decision to exclude the time spent in the UK on these visas from the Long Route to permanent residency (announced on 26 November 2024) are of particular concern. We are partnering with Simone Schehtman of Birmingham for Ukraine, Yuliia Ismail of Settled.org, Steve Osbiston of the Devon Ukrainian Association and Anna Zagrebelna who works closely with policy-makers on Ukraine-focused initiatives in the UK Parliament, to raise awareness of these issues and to support their campaign for automatic visa extensions and clear pathways to permanent status.

In September 2025 we conducted a survey of displaced Ukrainians in the UK with almost 3000 respondents. Respondents report widespread challenges in employment, housing, education, and mental health, with many struggling to secure jobs or leases due to their temporary status. The majority express a strong desire to remain in the UK – even if Ukraine becomes safe. For many, the UK has become more than a refuge – it is home. Yet the absence of a settlement pathway leaves them in a state of limbo, unable to plan for their futures or their children’s. We make the following recommendations to government:

  1. Ensure that the 24-month extension to the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) is applied through a simple and accessible system with a minimum of bureaucracy – ideally automatically for those already holding UPE visas.
  2. Include the time spent in the UK on the Ukraine Scheme visas (including Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Extension Scheme, and Ukraine Permission Extension) in the qualifying period for the 10-year Long Route to permanent residency.
  3. Create a designated 5-year pathway to residency for displaced Ukrainians who have been continuously resident in the UK under the Ukraine Schemes.
  4. Ensure that displaced Ukrainians – especially displaced children – have continued access to Ukrainian culture and language, e.g., through the introduction of a Ukrainian GCSE.
  5. Work with employers, job centres and relevant NGOs to ensure that the qualifications, skills and experience of displaced Ukrainians are fully recognised (including formal recognition of professional qualifications).
  6. Improve access to dedicated mental health support for displaced Ukrainians, ideally in Ukrainian and making use of the skills of Ukrainian medical professionals.

Read the full report “Displaced Ukrainians in the UK: Experiences and Future Intentions here.

The survey built on our smaller-scale survey, drawing on 1133 responses. Our interim results similarly highlighted the emotional and material harm caused by the Ukraine visa regime, which is putting Ukrainians at increased risk of unemployment and homelessness.

Guidance for Displaced Ukrainians and those who Support Them

Drawing on our research, we aim to improve the experiences of displaced Ukrainians in the UK, focusing on intercultural relations, work, and education. We collaborated with Birmingham City Council and Centrala to produce three sets of guidance in collaboration with Ukrainian communities:

  1. Guidance for Ukrainians in the UK and Homes for Ukraine hosts, focusing on intercultural understanding. The guidance was workshopped with displaced Ukrainians and hosts via two listening events and developed based on their feedback.
  2. Guidance for schools to raise awareness of the particular challenges faced by young displaced Ukrainians, e.g., around bullying, conversations about war, and cultural attitudes towards education. Download the guidance for schools here..
  3. Guidance on access to Higher Education in the UK that is culturally informed and relevant to the lived experience of young displaced Ukrainians.

The guidance was launched at a celebration event at Centrala on 5 March 2025. Further webinars are planned.

Our research

Support for Displaced Ukrainians – The Role of History and Stereotypes

Effectiveness of Support for Displaced Ukrainians

Futures of Ukraine; Futures of Ukraine Report

Sara Jones and Natalia Kogut, Mismatched Expectations: Eastern Europeanism, the Slow Memory of the Cold War, and Life in the UK for Displaced Ukrainians

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