Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how visa applicants from the Occupied Palestinian Territories can contact HM Embassy Cairo for approval for exit at Rafah to facilitate (a) visa application interviews and (b) biometric processing at a visa application centre.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Visa Application Centres, where interviews and biometric processing take place, are open and operating in Egypt, in both Cairo and Alexandria, and an application can be started online at any time. British nationals travelling from Gaza to Egypt that require visas for their eligible dependents can apply online and then visit the Visa Application Centre in Cairo to provide their biometric details. In addition, existing UK visa holders who have a spouse/partner or a child aged 17 or under currently living in the UK and hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months criteria can also contact the FCDO to request support to leave Gaza. Palestinians in Gaza who want to apply for a UK visa but are not a dependent of a British National are not currently eligible for our assistance. The FCDO Consular Contact Centre can be contacted on 020 7008 5000. Further advice on travelling to Egypt from Gaza is available at: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/israel
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to enable Ukrainian relatives of (a) British nationals living in the Ukraine and (b) Ukrainian nationals living in the UK to apply for urgent visas to the UK for travel, work, study, or to reunite with family.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
In a statement to the House on 28 February, the Home Secretary announced changes that allow Ukrainians in the UK to have their visas temporarily extended or be able to switch onto different visa routes. The Home Office has also exceptionally introduced some concessions in the Family Migration route to assist immediate family members of British Nationals normally living in Ukraine with their British national family member, who intend to return to or relocate to the UK with their British National family member.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the number of covid-19 vaccine doses that the UK will donate to other countries in 2022.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Our G7 Presidency in 2021 secured agreement from leaders to commit to sharing at least 870 million doses by June 2022. The G7 has gone further since June, and donated 770 million doses by the end of 2021 and committed to donate an additional 1.2 billion doses.
We have met the UK goal of donating 30 million doses by the end of 2021, as part of our G7 pledge to donate 100 million doses by June 2022. To date, the UK has delivered 23.3 million doses to countries in need of which 17.8 million have been delivered via COVAX and 5.5 million doses donated directly. A further 7.5 million doses have been received by COVAX and will shortly be allocated and shipped in line with COVAX's fair allocation model. The Prime Minister said at the G20 in October 2021 that we will donate 20 million further Astra Zeneca doses and 20 million Janssen doses to COVAX and we remain committed to meeting our 100 million pledge in full by June 2022.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her French counterpart on facilitating easier non-essential travel access to France for UK citizens.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We continue to work closely with international partners, including France, on red-listing, Vaccine Certification and other issues relating to COVID-19 and reopening international travel. Ultimately it is for France to make decisions with regards to COVID-19 border controls, just as it is for the UK to determine our border controls.
France is currently not on the UK's Red List. France accepts the UK's vaccination record and the UK has approved France's vaccine certification. Both countries continue to engage where appropriate.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that UK citizens who have received the Vaxzevria vaccine produced in India are able to participate in travel to Poland without having to quarantine.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Border restrictions are the prerogative of the receiving state. Poland will exempt travellers fully vaccinated with a vaccination approved for use in the European Union from quarantine on arrival. All AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS COVID Pass as Vaxzevria. The European Medicines Agency has authorised Vaxzevria and we're confident that travel to Poland should not be affected. Where there have been instances of confusion about the vaccine used in the UK, specifically around the 5 million doses of Vaxzevria manufactured in India, our officials have worked to clarify those misunderstandings with the governments concerned.
Nevertheless, travel restrictions can change, sometimes without notice. Travellers should check the FCDO's Travel Advice for Poland prior to travel to ensure they are familiar with the latest restrictions.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs on organising repatriation flights for British nationals who wish to urgently return to the UK from Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 30 March, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
Our teams around the world are working urgently to ensure that governments have sensible plans to enable the return of British and other travellers, and, crucially, to keep borders open for a sufficient period of time to enable returns to take place on commercial flights, wherever possible.
The administration in the north of Cyprus has introduced a total ban on entry for all foreign nationals, including the UK. This includes those holding residency, work, or student permits. Following policy changes announced by the Republic of Cyprus Government and the administration in the north, all crossing points between the Republic and the north are effectively closed to travellers. British travellers should contact their tour operator or transport provider now if they want to leave. We are working closely with the Government of Cyprus to explore options.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he held with his Indonesian counterpart on the extent to which closed borders may potentially prevent British citizens in Bali, or wider Indonesia, from returning to the UK; and what assessment he has made of the ability of those British citizens to purchase commercial flight tickets in order to return to the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As Parliament rose earlier than planned and the first day for answer of this PQ was after the Easter recess, due to the pace of developments during the COVID-19 crisis, I submitted a response by email on 9 April, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
FCO officials are working with airlines and with the authorities of Indonesia and potential transit countries to help British travellers get home. The Foreign Secretary spoke with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on 1 April; she reassured him that Indonesia would keep flight routes running and would support the UK's repatriation efforts. The Foreign Secretary expressed appreciation of Indonesia's support in getting 7000 British Nationals home from Bali, including the role of national airline Garuda Indonesia. I (Minister Adams) spoke to Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar on 23 March. More widely, we are working urgently to ensure that governments worldwide have plans in place to enable the return of British and other travellers and to keep borders open for a sufficient period of time to enable returns to take place on commercial flights wherever possible. We are also working with airlines to ensure as many people as possible can get commercial flights home.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he held with his Australian counterpart on the extent to which closed borders may potentially prevent British citizens in Australia from returning to the UK; and what assessment he has made of the ability of those British citizens to purchase commercial flight tickets in order to return to the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 27 March, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
We are proactively engaging commercial airlines and governments worldwide, including Australia, on keeping flight routes and transit hubs open to enable British nationals to return home. Our British High Commissioner in Canberra has written to the Australian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on this issue. We are signposting British nationals to commercial flight options and continuing to explore new routes by which then can travel home. We have also set up an online registration tool for any British nationals in Australia who require our support. The Prime Minister last spoke to PM Morrison about the broader COVID-19 crisis on 14 March.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Moroccan counterparts on ensuring the immediate safe return of British nationals from Moroccan airports unable to return to the UK as a result of most outbound flights from Morocco having been suspended due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are working intensively with the Governments of those countries that have closed their borders to people travelling to and from the UK, to enable airlines to bring back British people to the UK, if that is what they want. I spoke to the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, on 18 March to ask for additional flights to enter and leave Morocco. The British Embassy in Rabat has been working with tour operators and airlines to encourage them to offer additional flights, last week we facilitated 49 flights, taking 8,520 passengers to the UK. The welfare of British nationals remains our top priority, and we are focused on supporting those around the world who are being affected by the restrictions being put in place.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Jordanian counterpart on arranging repatriation flights for British nationals that wish to return to the UK as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are working closely with local authorities, commercial airlines and other diplomatic missions to enable British people to get home. Our consular team is working around the clock to provide support, advice and information. British travellers should contact their tour operator or airline as soon as possible if they want to return to the UK. We are working intensively with the Governments of those countries, including Jordan, that have closed their borders to people travelling to and from the UK, to enable airlines to bring back British people to the UK, if that is what they want.
In light of the rapidly changing situation, we urge all travellers to sign up for our travel advice alert service. British nationals in Jordan should keep up to date with our travel advice for Jordan, which they can find on: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jordan/coronavirus.
We have also published advice for British nationals who do not have immediate departure options available to them: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus#if-youre-abroad-and-you-want-to-return-to-the-uk