According to The Independent newspaper, lone child refugees are facing triple wait periods to visit family members in Britain as resources have been reallocated to processing visas for Ukrainians.

The regular 12-week visa waiting time has increased to 24 weeks, with a 14-year-old Afghan kid advised that he may have to wait up to six months to join his family in the UK.

The kid has been living in an eastern European refugee camp since fleeing the war-torn nation last year when the Taliban overthrew the Western-backed government. His sibling is already in the country, but the adolescent has been advised that he may have to wait much longer than expected before he can join him.

The Independent has seen emails from the UK’s visa service to the boy’s lawyers which says it is “prioritizing Ukraine visa scheme applications,” which has meant that applicants from elsewhere will “experience some delays in the processing of their application.”

It added: “We have therefore made the decision to temporarily amend our marriage and family service standard to 24 weeks, from our usual service standard for this route of 12 weeks.”

The adjustment took effect on May 11. The Home Office has not yet commented on how many unaccompanied minors would be affected.

Safe Passage International CEO Beth Gardiner-Smith told the Independent it was “beyond aggravating” that children in “precarious” situations in Europe had to wait for long periods of time.

She added: “We fear this delay in family reunion applications could cause some children we’re working with to lose faith in the process and attempt to make dangerous journeys instead to reach their family.”

For the latest International News Follow BOL News on Google News. Read more on Latest International News on oldsite.bolnews.com