Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Ukrainian children and young people can enter the UK in the event that their parent or guardian does not hold their passport or birth certificate without that child or young person having to re-enter Ukraine or attend a visa application centre in another country in Europe.
All Ukrainians, including children, who do not have a valid Ukrainian international passport must attend a Visa Application Centre in person and provide their biometric information, as they will need a secure Entry Clearance document which will convert to permission to enter upon arrival at the UK border.
This means we can properly identify a child brought into the UK and link them to their parents or carers and help to prevent child exploitation and trafficking, which is an essential safeguard for children crossing international borders.