Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support Ukrainian refugees to escape the conflict zone in Ukraine and (b) expedite asylum applications to the UK for vulnerable people, including the elderly, women and children.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is moving as quickly as possible to ensure those fleeing Ukraine can find safety in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine Scheme, the first of their kind to be operationalised anywhere in the world.
Both of these schemes are free, and people applying under the schemes will be able to live and work in the UK for up to three years. They will have full and unrestricted access to benefits, healthcare, employment, and other support.
The Government has streamlined the process so valid Ukrainian passport holders do not have to attend in-person appointments before arriving in the UK, simplified our forms and boosted caseworker numbers, while ensuring vital security checks are carried out.
Whilst the Government sympathises with people in many difficult situations around the world, there is no provision within the Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge.
The Government does though welcome vulnerable people in need of protection to the UK through our resettlement schemes. These schemes have provided safe and legal routes for tens of thousands of people to start new lives in the UK.