Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to applications for visas to come to the UK from Ukrainian refugees, what service standard has been communicated to TLS Contact in relation to ensuring (a) availability of appointments for enrolling biometrics and (b) the time in which to contact applicants to collect visas when decisions have been made; how many working days it is taking from the date that a Visa Application Centre is notified of a positive visa decision to the individuals in question being informed they can collect their visas; and if she will make a statement.

The Home Office works closely with its commercial partners to ensure sufficient appointments are made available in each location to meet demand. At the start of the Ukraine crisis we bolstered capacity in neighbouring countries by increasing staffing and IT resources and introducing pop-up locations in order to create more appointments.

TLS, who operate Visa Application Centres (VACs) overseas on behalf of UKVI, were advised to provide appointments as soon as possible to customers and within 48 hours. Since the new online Ukraine Schemes went live, and customers in possession of a valid Ukrainian/endorsed government passport no longer needed to attend a VAC to enrol their biometrics, there has been a significant reduction in the volumes of Ukrainian customers attending a VAC for biometric appointments and requiring a vignette to be issued.

TLS notify customers that their visa decision is ready for collection as soon as possible and within 24 hours of them receiving the vignette at the VAC.