Julian calls for faster processing for Ukrainian refugees’ visa applications
March 23, 2022
Building on his repeated efforts to ensure Ukrainian refugees fleeing war can find swift sanctuary in the United Kingdom, Julian asked the Prime Minister today for a change of policy for managing visa applications which would allow refugees to arrive in the country while their application is being processed.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Julian raised concerns that, while improvements have been made to our response to the Ukraine refugee crisis, processing times are still too slow when considering the number of refugees has doubled in the last fortnight and is on track to reach ten million persons by the end of the year.
Julian first raised concern about slow processing times two weeks ago at a Home Office Urgent Question where he told the Immigration Minister that kind offers from York Outer constituents were at risk of being wasted if the system was not overhauled.
Today, Julian continued to push the Government by asking the Prime Minister:
” I warmly welcome the improvements to our national Ukraine refugee response, but in the weeks since these improved measures, numbers fleeing Putin’s invasion have sadly doubled to 3.5 million, and are expected to go even higher. Does the Prime Minister agree that our response must still move much faster, with a shift to processing applications in the UK and cutting the red tape and bureaucracy, so we can match the scale of Europe’s worst humanitarian crisis since the second world war? “
Upon leaving the House of Commons, Julian commented:
“With over 150,000 homes having been registered to house refugees, it is clear that the public stand ready to offer a warm and generous welcome to refugees but are being held-up by bureaucracy and Home Office red tape.
The Government has already proven they can be flexible and adapt as the refugee crisis escalates so it must once again review current practices to allow refugees to have their applications processed on arrival in the UK.
We must rise to the occasion and ensure that the UK can be proud of our response to the worst crisis in Europe since World War 2″
