Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support people seeking safe refuge in the UK from countries surrounding Ukraine.

We have opened two new visa routes to assist those seeking safety in the UK: the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine Scheme. The latest guidance on these routes can be found at:

www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine-and-ukrainian-nationals-in-ukraine-and-the-uk.

We have continued to adapt the visa process to ensure we keep pace with the rapidly shifting situation on the ground, whilst also maintaining vital security checks.

Since 15 March, Ukrainians with valid passports have been able to get permission to come to the UK online from wherever they are, rather than going to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) before travelling to the UK.

For those without passports, capacity at our VACs in neighbouring countries has been increased to 13,000 appointments per week. We have also opened temporary locations in temporary locations in Lviv, Rzeszow and Arras.

We are working to process visas as quickly as possible. We have surged staff to our VACs across Europe meaning we are processing over 1,000 applications a day as a minimum, and UKVI staff are working seven days a week to process applications.