Owner of Perch in Worthing offers to sponsor two chefs from Ukraine

Alex Hole, who runs the Perch Café in Lancing and is creating Perch on the Pier in Worthing, put on Twitter that he would be willing to sponsor two visas for chefs from Ukraine and would pay for their travel for them to come and work for him.

Mr Hole’s offer came two days after the outbreak of war in Ukraine after Russia invaded on Thursday, February 24.

Mr Hole said: “At the moment, this is the only way for people to travel into the UK and we’d rather they have access to UK visa rights on an unrestrictive basis.

“People fleeing a war probably aren’t concerned about their employment probabilities but they need to get visas in order to come into the UK and sponsoring two visas and paying for travel is the only pragmatic way that could make that happen, so we are happy to do anything in terms of helping them for that.”

Mr Hole made it clear that he hoped the Home Office will come up with further guidance within the next few days adding that his offer is hoped to be more of a long-term one rather than short-term.

Mr Hole said: “People with families are fleeing war with no alternative but to come to the UK and find a working visa. They have no refugee status here.

“It is a very miserable set of circumstances that they have to deal with and try and find solutions for themselves and their families.

“Anybody who knows someone who would be interested in this offer can put them in touch with us but I am aware that if they are fleeing conflict, wondering where they might find their next job is probably not at the forefront of their mind, it is probably focusing on finding somewhere safe to go to.

“The only mechanism they can get is to get a work visa to enter the UK and there doesn’t seem to be many significant changes coming out of the Home Office at the moment, so we are more than happy to facilitate that. It is the only way we can help.”

If you know anyone, you can reach Mr Hole on Twitter: @alexatperch or you can reach him at [email protected].