why the UK chose Arras over Calais for its visa hub
British Ambassador Menna Rawlings justified her government’s decision, pointing to the “risk of creating a pole of attraction”.
Criticized since the start of the war in Ukraine for its “lack of humanity” in welcoming Ukrainian refugees, the United Kingdom announced last week the opening of a consular post in Arras. It must allow Ukrainians wishing to join their families in the United Kingdom to be able to apply for a visa.
Asked by The voice of the Norththe British ambassador to France, Menna Rawlings, justified the choice to settle in the capital of the department, rather than in Calais where many refugees found themselves stranded.
“In Calais, there was a risk of creating a pole of attraction, she says. We already have problems with criminal gangs, smugglers and migrants with the passage of small boats. It was necessary to avoid other worries and open this center a little further from the border and the Channel and easier to access than our consulate in Paris.”
According to the newspaper, the situation is being calmed down. Only people who do not have a biometric passport must go to Arras, others can take the tunnel or the ferry in Calais, before regularizing their situation on British territory.
“We have solved the little problems between the United Kingdom and France”
The United Kingdom also announced on Wednesday that it had granted 5,500 visas to Ukrainian refugees, under family reunification.
“Mr. Darmanin had clearly expressed his concerns on the subject, adds Menna Rawlings, in The voice of the North. It was very difficult to start these operations last week with a lot of pressure on the ground. But we have solved the little problems between the United Kingdom and France.”
For its part, according to figures communicated Monday by the Minister of the Interior, France has taken in 13,500 refugees. Gérald Darmanin clarified, when asked about a meeting of the Interministerial Crisis Center, that France was able to accommodate up to 100,000 refugees.