Dear constituent,
Thank you for contacting me with regard to visas being issued by the Government to support those wishing to come to the UK and also about humanitarian aid.
I appreciate that concerns have been raised about the pace of the Government’s support programmes for those fleeing Ukraine and seeking refuge in the U.K. However, as at 31st March 2022, we have now seen more than 29,100 visas issued to Ukrainians under the Family Visa Scheme referred to below and the separate humanitarian sponsorship visa scheme.
Russia’s appalling assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign, democratic state and has created one of the largest, most rapid movements of displaced people in recent history.
The Government has put in place significant measures which are already ensuring that Ukrainians with family members in the UK are able to join them. In addition, the new sponsorship scheme - ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme launches - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provides a route to enable Ukrainian refugees without family ties with the UK to be matched with individuals, businesses, community organisations, or Local Authorities willing and able to act as a sponsor. There will be no limit on this scheme, and the UK will welcome as many Ukrainians as wish to come and for whom there are sponsors.
Last month, I asked the minister to ensure that the scheme was operational as soon as possible and I am pleased to see that this happened - Ukrainian refugees - YouTube
I think that it is worth setting out below the full extent of the measures which have been introduced, particularly as the Government is not only giving British nationals and any person settled in the UK the ability to bring over their Ukrainian family members but has also introduced the humanitarian sponsorship route mentioned above.
The Ukraine Family Visa Scheme has been open for more than a month now. From 15th March, a fully online application process has been available speeding up the application process so that people do not need to travel to the visa processing centres which are open in Warsaw, Rzeszow, Chișinău, Bucharest, Budapest and Prague. The Home Office is enabling Ukrainians with passports to give their biometrics once in Britain, which will make the process simpler but also mean the Home Office can continue to conduct vital security checks.
This will alleviate pressure on Visa Application Centres across Europe and allow these centres to give greater focus to refugees without passports.
For those refugees who still wish, or need, to use the visa application centres, the capacity has been increased to 13,000 appointments per week and a new Refugees Minister has been appointed to coordinate support for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
The Ukraine Family Visa Scheme, which will support British nationals and others settled in the UK to bring their family members, has the widest possible scope for immediate and extended family. The scope of eligibility is set out here: Apply for a Ukraine Family Scheme visa - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Ukrainians who are on work, study or visit visas in the UK will have their visas temporarily extended or be able to switch onto different visa routes.
I have received suggestions that the Home Office should waive the usual visa requirements and in response, as set out above, the Home Secretary confirmed that there would no longer be a need for biometric details to be taken at the time of application provided that the applicant has a passport. However, it would not be possible to go further for the reasons the Home Secretary gave during a debate on the issue, when she said: “As I was saying. extremists are on the ground in the region, too. Given that, and also Putin’s willingness to do violence on British soil—and in keeping with our approach, which we have retained consistently throughout all emergency evacuations, including that of Afghanistan—we cannot suspend any security or biometric checks on the people whom we welcome to our country. We have a collective duty to keep the British people safe, and this approach is based on the strongest security advice. These measures have been designed to enable swift implementation—that is the point: swift implementation—without the need for legislation or changes to immigration rules. The Ukrainian people need help immediately, and we are putting it in place now.”
The UK has a proud history of supporting those in need and offering sanctuary, just as we have in recent years in response to the situation in Syria and then last year in Afghanistan and I know that the Government will continue to keep all measures under review as it seeks to support people in response to the unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign, democratic state. Since 2015, more than 25,000 vulnerable people, including children, seeking refuge from cruel circumstances across the world have been resettled in the UK – more than any other European country. The government made one of the largest commitments of any country to resettle at-risk Afghan citizens, and that commitment is being delivered. We undertook the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, helping over 15,000 people at risk to safety in the UK, including thousands of women and girls. We have also seen the government introduce the Hong Kong BN(O) route, which has been a great success and honours our commitment to those with ties to the UK, and their families. Over 97,000 people have been granted visas through the route so far.
The UK is donating more bilateral humanitarian aid to Ukraine than any other European country, with £400million in aid pledged to help the Ukrainian people. We are providing £220 million in aid for basic necessities like medical supplies to support their response, as well as a £74 million through the World Bank to support the Ukrainian government directly and a £100 million economic package to support Ukraine financially, including helping them to reduce their reliance on Russian energy supplies – over £400million in total, making us the largest bilateral European donor behind only the US.
In addition, the UK is supplying more than five million items of medical supplies to Ukraine, leading the humanitarian effort for our Ukrainian friends in their hour of need. We have supplied over4million items of medical supplies to Ukraine – including over 300,000 sterile needles, 32,000packs of bandages, 160,000 wound care packs, and almost 300,000 packs of medicine containing 2.5 million doses.
I hope that the above information is helpful in setting out my views, the Government’s response to the crisis and the full range of support being made available.
Yours sincerely,
