Ukraine war: Ukrainians to be able to apply online for UK visas

Key Facts

They will not have to visit a visa application centre and can give their biometric data in the UK, meaning centres can be reserved for the most complex cases and those without ID.
Welcoming the update, shadow home secretary Ms Cooper asked why it had taken "being hauled into the House of Commons to make basic changes to help vulnerable people who are fleeing from Ukraine?" She also questioned why there had been a delay when the home secretary had "had intelligence for weeks, if not months, that she needed to prepare for a Russian invasion of Ukraine".
The government has also said it will set out details of a sponsorship route, in which individuals or organisations can sponsor refugees to come to the UK, this week.
The government said the new temporary visa application centre for people applying to come to stay with Ukrainian family in the UK would open on Thursday in Lille, rather than in Calais, "in light of the risk from criminals actively operating in the area" around the port.