The Home Office has requested that a young woman from Ukraine who sought safety in the UK return to her war-torn home country and live apart from her parents.

On December 17, 2023, 20-year-old Anastasiia Drevynytska left her home in western Ukraine and travelled to the UK to join her parents, Volodymyr and Svitlana, who had already come after securing sponsorship through the Homes for Ukraine programme.

In order for Drevynytska to join them under the same arrangement, she had looked for a sponsor. She was given the opportunity to fly to the UK to join her parents when a Ukrainian man offered to handle the paperwork for her application in exchange for payment. But when she arrived she found that the paperwork the man had given her was incorrect and that she had been scammed.

The Home Office granted her six months’ temporary leave, which runs out on 19 June. She has received a letter from the Home Office asking her to return to Ukraine, although it is not government policy to forcibly return refugees to active war zones.

“I’m so scared of being returned to Ukraine where missiles arrive at any time,” she said. “My parents were so worried about me while I was in Ukraine – every time an air raid warning went off. They wanted to make sure I always went into the bomb shelter.”

The Home Office letter states that Drevynytska does not meet the requirements of the Homes for Ukraine scheme and so her application has been refused. It says she did not apply for entry clearance before arriving in the UK. She said she was unaware her paperwork was incorrect when she arrived here.

The letter states there is no right of appeal or administrative review against the decision to refuse her application. It adds that she can make a new application under the scheme but “if your circumstances have not changed or you are unable to provide new information it is likely your application will be refused again”.

It warns of the consequences of staying in the UK unlawfully, which may include being fined, imprisoned, removed and banned from returning.

She said she had tried everything she could to sort out her situation since arriving in the UK and discovering that her paperwork was incorrect, including seeking help from the Home Office, her local council and an immigration adviser. All had been unable to offer any solution for her.

“I didn’t try to hide anything with my paperwork and didn’t realise I had done anything wrong when I arrived here,” she said. “I wanted to do everything in a legal way and now I’m so worried I will be sent back to a war zone.”

Luke Piper, the head of immigration at the Work Rights Centre, which is supporting Drevynytska, said: “It’s deeply concerning that the Home Office is inviting people to return to a war zone, despite the UK’s commitment to Ukraine and the establishment of various schemes to protect the civilian population.

“It’s indicative of an increasing trend we are seeing of the UK government stepping away from its unwavering support for the people of Ukraine and prioritising bringing down migrant numbers by any means necessary.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is longstanding policy that we do not comment on individual cases.”