Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's policy that time spent under the Ukraine visa schemes does not count towards the continuous residence period for settled status on the ability of Ukrainians to seek (a) rental agreements, (b) changes of employment and (c) enrolment on an education course.

The Government have always been clear that the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. Similarly, time spent in the UK with permission granted under the Ukraine Schemes cannot be relied upon towards the continuous qualifying period for the purposes of a Long Residence application.

The Government continues to keep both the Ukraine Schemes and the evolving situation in Ukraine under close and active review.

On 1 September, the Home Secretary announced in parliament that the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme (UPE) would be extended for an additional 24 months to enable those eligible to obtain a further period of permission following their initial permission under UPE. More detail will follow in due course.