Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Ukrainian nationals can extend their stay by (a) 18 months and (b) three years.

To provide future certainty, on 18 February we announced that existing Ukraine scheme visa holders who live mainly in the UK, will be able to apply for further permission to remain in the UK for an additional 18 months.

The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare, and education as the other Ukraine schemes. Those eligible to apply will not be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. Further details on eligibility and application processes will be available before the scheme opens for applications early next year.

The Ukraine Extension Scheme was introduced for those Ukrainians already in the UK at the time of the invasion and who could not return to Ukraine. It provides three years’ temporary sanctuary aligned to the other Ukraine schemes. Those who have been granted permission by 16 November 2023 will have until 16 May 2024 to submit an application under the UES.