Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safe and legal routes are available for Sudanese refugees to come to the UK to escape ethnic cleansing in Darfur.

The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees. Since 2015, we have offered a place through our safe and legal routes to over half a million people seeking safety in the UK, as well as family members of refugees. Where somebody has a link to the UK, they may be eligible for our family routes.

The UK continues to welcome refugees through our existing global resettlement schemes, which includes the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. We are proud to have welcomed over 300 Sudanese nationals through the UKRS and Community Sponsorship since 2021.

Our global resettlement schemes are not application based; instead, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refers individuals for resettlement in accordance with their standard resettlement submission criteria. These are based on an assessment of protection needs or vulnerabilities. The UK does not seek to intervene in or influence UNHCR’s established selection processes.

There are additional routes for people to come to the UK to work or study provided they meet the requirements of the relevant immigration rules under which they are applying. However, the UK has finite resources and is so not able to provide tailored humanitarian routes in every circumstance.