Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Home Secretary on 8 March that they have “surged a Home Office team” to help at Calais, why Ukrainian refugees are unable to be processed more rapidly in Calais than at other locations.

Prior to the conflict the Home Office had one Visa Application Centre (VAC) based in France, that being the VAC in Paris.

To support people in Northern France who are eligible for the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Home Office has set up a new temporary Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Arras, replacing the interim site in Lille. The Arras VAC is now open. It will only be used for referrals from Border Force of Ukrainians arriving in Calais without visas. Individuals eligible for the Ukraine Family Scheme should not travel to Arras or Northern France, but instead apply online (if they hold a valid passport), or make an appointment to attend their nearest VAC in person which is an easier way of getting the permissions to travel to the UK needed.