Safe Passage International works across Europe to support the most vulnerable displaced people to reach safety, and to campaign for improvements in the system.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, c5 million refugees have left the country, with an estimated 7.8 million displaced internally. Most refugees are women, the elderly and children. Safe Passage quickly identified gaps in information about safe and legal routes to EU Countries, especially for vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied children; non-Ukrainian nationals who do not have the same level of protection in the EU as Ukrainian nationals; Ukrainian nationals without valid passports; and other vulnerable populations such as Roma travellers. Many NGOs and groups in the region are not aware of the visa schemes opened by the UK Government for Ukrainians and there is a profound lack of specific legal knowledge for those at the border seeking safe passage to the UK.

Safe Passage swiftly built a Ukraine Response Team, which is providing legal advice in the region, in order to improve the ability of vulnerable groups fleeing Ukraine to access safe routes to the UK, and to advocate for improvements in safe routes for all refugees. They are also building knowledge and capacity for advice sharing about UK schemes among the range of NGOs and projects in the region.

Treebeard is supporting Safe Passage’s Ukraine response in 2022.