Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department had with Ukrainian refugees ahead of the decision to extend visas by 18 months.

In response to calls for certainty about the future of the Ukraine visa schemes from the Ukrainian community, on 18 February we announced that existing Ukraine scheme visa holders will be able to apply for permission to remain in the UK for an additional 18 months under a new Ukraine Permission Extension scheme set to open in early 2025 (before the first UKR scheme visas start to expire in March 2025).

Since the announcement, alongside colleagues in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, we have participated in extensive engagement with the Ukrainian community via an ongoing programme of stakeholder engagement.