Written question WQ84954

The Welsh Government has been clear from the outset that a visa application system is not an appropriate mechanism to support people fleeing war.

We have done what we can to avoid the bureaucratic UK Government requirement for a household sponsor to be identified by Ukrainians, through the development of our super-sponsor offer. However, although more than 600 people have applied to come to Wales through the super-sponsor route since 25 March, we are only now starting to see visas being granted by the UK Government.

We have urged the UK Government to establish a proper refugee resettlement scheme, rather the current Ukraine visa schemes.

The super-sponsor offer is a model for how this could work – with people from Ukraine being accommodated initially in welcome centres before onward matching to household sponsors or longer-term accommodation.

We are using our own resources to provide welcome centres because it is the right thing to do as a Nation of Sanctuary, but without dedicated resources being committed by the UK Government we cannot do this for every person from Ukraine coming to Wales.

We have repeatedly raised concerns about the complexity of the current system, including at a meeting with the newly-appointed Minister for Refugees Lord Harrington – on 7 April. He has stated he expects the UK Government to expedite visa processing times to 48 hours. Although this would be helpful, we still believe the process will remain complex and onerous.

We are currently considering the best approach to ensure Wales-based sponsors can work with us on the onward matching of people arriving in welcome centres and will aim to provide further details in the very near future. Initially, our focus is on providing people from Ukraine with wraparound support as quickly as possible. Initial casework and health support will take a number of weeks to resolve while people are in the welcome centres, before they are relocated to alternative accommodation.