I am pleased that the Government has confirmed we are enabling 200,000 or more Ukrainian refugees to come to the UK.
Many of these Ukrainians have family connections in the UK. Our family resettlement route is already in operation and the Home Secretary has announced to the House that its scope will be expanded to include wider family members.
Home Office staff are working around the clock to prioritise the processing of Ukrainian applications and various requirements for the family route such as salary threshold have already been lowered. Where family members of British nationals or those with settled status do not meet lowered entry criteria but pass security checks, the Government will be going even further by offering them discretionary leave outside of the rules for 12 months.
The scope of the family route is going to be expanded from immediate family members to include adult parents, grandparents, children over 18 and siblings of British citizens and settled status holders.
So far UK officials have already assisted hundreds of British nationals and their families in Ukraine to flee the conflict and this vital work continues.
While we are waiving many of the otherwise essential requirements for permission to come to the UK, it remains essential that security and biometric checks are in place. Putin’s intentions to harm the West are clear for all to see and his forces are working to infiltrate Ukrainian society. The last thing we would want to see is Kremlin operatives disguising themselves as innocent civilians to take advantage of the generous welcome we are offering to Ukrainians.
We are also:
- Opening a new visa application centre for those applying for family migration to the UK
- Allowing Ukrainians to also apply through a visa application centre in nearby countries including Poland, Moldova, Romania and Hungary
- Enabling existing Ukrainian nationals in the UK to switch to the family visa or points-based immigration route, free of charge
- Extending temporary visas in some sectors so Ukrainians can stay in the UK until December 2022
- Providing £220m in emergency and humanitarian aid to Ukrainians on the ground
For businesses and firms will be a sponsorship route for them to bring Ukrainians to the UK, who have no family here in Britain but will be able to make a positive contribution to our economy and society.
We are also opening a new humanitarian scheme for Ukrainian refugees so that those who are most in need will be able to find safe and legal routes to the UK.
More details on these two routes will be set out by the Government shortly.
I fully support the steps we are taking to enable more Ukrainians to come to the UK, which builds on the long and proud record of welcome we have provided to the world’s most vulnerable.
It is important that across the UK we have the infrastructure and resources in place and ready for the arrival of Ukrainians. We must also ensure that our compassionate response is sustainable and enjoys the support of local people. I am in discussions with our local councillors over how we can arrange a joined-up response here in Cornwall and I am also keen to see that we harness the skills, experience and resources of the voluntary sector which can play a key role in the resettlement and integration of Ukrainians.
While we have seen some of the darkest days in recent history, we have also witnessed some extraordinary acts of bravery and heroism from the Ukrainian people, and I remain determined to do all I can to ensure they receive all the support they rightly deserve at this critical time.