Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the capacity is for the number of appointments available per week at UK visa application centres in (a) Hungary, (b) Moldova, (c) Poland, (d) France, (e) Romania for people making visa applications to come to the UK; how many such appointments remain free at each of these centres for March 2022; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office has surged capacity to other countries including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.
Since Tuesday 15 March, Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
Instead, once their application has been considered and the appropriate checks completed, they will receive direct notification that they are eligible for the scheme and can come to the UK.
This will mean VACs across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without passports. We have increased the capacity at those Centres to 13,000 appointments per week.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department were working in visa application centres in (a) Poland, (b) Romania and (c) Moldova on (i) 1 February and (ii) 7 March 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office has surged capacity to other countries including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.
The Home Office is deploying more staff to the region this week to support customer queries and bring on board further capacity to facilitate more biometric appointments across the next week
Since Tuesday 15 March, Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
This will mean VACs across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without passports. We have increased the capacity at those Centres to 13,000 appointments per week.
The Home Secretary’s statement of 10 March sets out the latest update for the Ukrainian Family Scheme. It can be found on the GOV.UK website: Home Secretary update on support for Ukrainians - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department have been surged to visa application centres in the (a) Ukraine region and (b) neighbouring countries to support visa processing.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office has surged capacity to other countries including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.
The Home Office is deploying more staff to the region to support customer queries and bring on board further capacity to facilitate more biometric appointments across the next week.
Since Tuesday 15 March, Ukrainians with passports will no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
This will mean VACs across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without passports. We have increased the capacity at those Centres to 13,000 appointments per week.
The Home Secretary’s statement of 10 March sets out the latest update for the Ukrainian Family Scheme. It can be found on the GOV.UK website: Home Secretary update on support for Ukrainians - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to enable the Ukrainian family members of British nationals to obtain family migration visas in the event that they cannot safely reach a Visa Application Centre.
Answered by Kevin Foster
While the Visa Application Centres (VACs) in Kyiv and Lviv have had to close in response to the conflict, the Home Office has surged capacity to other countries, including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova. We have also established a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.
Since Tuesday 15 March, Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
The Home Secretary’s statement of 10 March sets out the latest update for the Ukrainian Family Scheme. It can be found on the GOV.UK website:
Home Secretary update on support for Ukrainians - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of biometric appointments available this week in visa application centres in (a) Poland, (b) Romania and (c) Moldova for Ukrainians seeking refuge in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office has surged capacity to other countries including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.
The Home Office is deploying more staff to the region this week to support customer queries and bring on board further capacity to facilitate more biometric appointments across the next week.
Since Tuesday 15 March, Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
This will mean VACs across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without passports. We have increased the capacity at those Centres to 13,000 appointments per week.
The Home Secretary’s statement of 10 March sets out the latest update for the Ukrainian Family Scheme. It can be found on the GOV.UK website: Home Secretary update on support for Ukrainians - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many biometrics appointments are available this week in visa application centres in (a) Poland, (b) Romania and (c) Moldova for Ukrainians seeking refuge in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office has surged capacity to other countries including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.
The Home Office is deploying more staff to the region this week to support customer queries and bring on board further capacity to facilitate more biometric appointments across the next week.
Since Tuesday 15 March, Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
This will mean VACs across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without passports. We have increased the capacity at those Centres to 13,000 appointments per week.
The Home Secretary’s statement of 10 March sets out the latest update for the Ukrainian Family Scheme. It can be found on the GOV.UK website: Home Secretary update on support for Ukrainians - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that British citizens in Russia and Ukraine are able to make contact with UK authorities; and what assistance is being provided to British citizens in Russia and Ukraine who wish to leave those countries.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
British nationals still in Ukraine are encouraged to register their presence with the FCDO on the GOV.UK website so we can provide them with the latest information. We advise British nationals to leave Ukraine immediately if you judge it is safe to do so, and those who require consular assistance can call our 24 hour helpline or send any enquiries via the web contact form. Full, in person consular assistance is available in neighbouring countries. The 'Returning to the UK' section of our travel advice for Ukraine lists the main border crossing points for Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.
All British nationals should continue to read and follow FCDO Travel Advice. If they are in Russia and their presence is not essential, we strongly advise them to consider leaving by remaining commercial routes, checking the latest information with the airline or travel provider. British nationals in need of consular assistance should call the British Embassy in Moscow, via the number on the GOV.UK website, and then select the option for consular assistance. Phone lines are answered 24 hours a day. There is also our returning to the UK page, for information on exiting Russia and onward travel to the UK, including information about leaving via the Baltic States using bus services to leave Russia.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are giving to (1) Poland, and (2) other countries, who are receiving refugees from Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Secretary announced on Tuesday 1 March phase 2 of our bespoke humanitarian support package for those affected by the crisis. Firstly, we are establishing an expansive Ukrainian Family Scheme so that British nationals and people settled in the UK can bring a wider group of family members to the UK, extending eligibility to parents, grandparents, adult offspring, siblings, and their immediate family members. Those joining family in the UK will be granted leave for an initial period of 12 months. They will be able to work and access public funds.
Secondly, we will establish a humanitarian sponsorship pathway, which will open up a route to the UK for Ukrainians who may not have family ties with the UK but who are able to match with individuals, charities, businesses, and community groups. Family members of British nationals resident in Ukraine who need a UK visa can apply through the temporary location in Lviv, or through Visa Application Centres in Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Hungary.
We have created additional capacity in all locations at pace, in anticipation of the invasion of Ukraine. This includes a pop-up Visa Application Centre in Rzeszow in Poland, which has provided total capacity currently of well over 3,000 appointments per week.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking support the Governments of (a) Poland, (b) Slovakia, (c) Hungary, (d) Romania and (e) Moldova to assist with accommodating refugees from Ukraine following the Russian invasion of that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK government has so far pledged £395 million of aid, which includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance, some of which will go to supporting countries neighbouring Ukraine with their response. Our humanitarian support will help partners stand up their responses to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, creating a lifeline for Ukrainians with access to immediate assistance. HMG is also match-funding the public's first £25 million of donations to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, our largest ever aid-match contribution.
In addition to the humanitarian assistance, the UK has deployed humanitarian experts to Poland, Moldova and Romania to provide logistics, advice and analysis of the refugee situation, and a medical assessment team to Romania and Moldova to assess options for rapidly deploying UK Emergency Medical Team (UKEMT) capabilities.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has the capability to issue emergency travel documents for travel to the UK to eligible persons in Ukraine via electronic means; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
In a statement to the House, the Home Secretary announced on 28 February changes that allow Ukrainians in the UK to have their visas temporarily extended or be able to switch onto different visa routes. Family members of British nationals resident in Ukraine who need a UK visa can apply through Visa Application Centres in Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Hungary.
We have created additional capacity in all locations at pace, in anticipation of the invasion of Ukraine. This includes a pop-up Visa Application Centre in Rzeszow in Poland, which has provided total capacity currently of well over 3,000 appointments per week.