Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken to approve applications to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

We have received thousands of applications submitted to one of the fastest and largest visa programmes in UK history. Information on the number of visas granted under these schemes can be found on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Schemes: application data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to Ukraine.

The Home Office and the commercial provider operating our Visa Application Centres have surged staff across Europe to meet demand and UKVI staff in the UK are working seven days a week to process applications.

As part of the Home Office’s commitment to make it easier for applicants to apply to our schemes, since 15 March, Ukrainians with valid passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.