Ukraine war one year on: These are the 12 areas of Sussex that have received the highest number of refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme

The UK’s initial response to the increasingly dire situation in Ukraine was criticised for being bureaucratic and slow.

However, on March 14, 2022 the UK Government announced the Homes for Ukraine scheme which allowed households across the country the opportunity to open their doors to a Ukrainian family or individual for at least six months.

The sponsorship scheme resulted in hundreds of thousands of refugees applying for UK visas to enter the UK. Home Office figures show Ukrainians have made almost 270,000 visa applications, as of February 7, 2023.

Of these, 182,000 applications were made under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, where refugees can be matched with sponsors in the UK, and a further 86,000 were made under the Ukraine Family Scheme, where refugees join family members already settled in the UK.

Almost 220,000 have been granted a UK visa since applications opened, while more than 8,000 have had their application refused.

NationalWorld analysis shows 81.4% of applications resulted in a visa being issued, 11.1% were withdrawn, 3.1% were refused and 4.5% are still awaiting conclusion.

Since the schemes launched, 161,400 refugees have arrived in the UK.

Chichester has welcomed the most Ukrainian refugees (550) in Sussex, while Adur has received the least (75).

Ahead of the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, SussexWorld has compiled the latest stats on the number of Ukrainian refugees in each area of Sussex under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.