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Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Schemes Factsheet, March 2021

Published 18 March 2021

About the Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Schemes

Refugee resettlement plays a key role in the global response to humanitarian crises: it saves lives and offers stability to refugees most in need of protection. Refugees are displaced by conflict, violence and persecution. They do not leave their countries out of choice. The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, and our resettlement schemes enable us to give the opportunity of a new start to those who have been forced to flee their homes.

Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme

The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) was launched in January 2014 and has helped those in the greatest need, including people requiring urgent medical treatment, survivors of violence and torture, and women and children at risk.

The then Prime Minister announced on 7 September 2015 that the scheme would be expanded to resettle 20,000 Syrians in need of protection by 2020, making it the largest resettlement scheme in Europe. In July 2017 we took the decision to extend the scope of the scheme to include refugees who have fled the conflict in Syria but do not have Syrian nationality.

Under the VPRS, we have worked closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify vulnerable refugees who have fled Syria, who they deem in need of resettlement and whose particular needs can only be met in other countries, such as the UK. Our approach, to take refugees from the region (Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt), provided refugees with a direct safe and legal route to the UK. Local authorities and community sponsor groups have played a vital role in helping those who have arrived here to settle into a new life in the UK.

We were on track to meet our commitment to resettle 20,000 vulnerable refugees through the VPRS in March 2020, until the unprecedented restrictions and pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant the UK, alongside many other countries, had to temporarily pause the resettlement of refugees. However, arrivals recommenced in December 2020 and the final refugees arrived on 25 February 2021.

The final number of refugees who have found safety in the UK under the VPRS was 20,319 (this includes 239 resettled before the scheme was upscaled and who are not included in the 20,000 commitment), delivering on our commitment in September 2015 to resettle 20,000 refugees who have fled the conflict in Syria. We will continue to offer a direct safe and legal route to the UK for refugees in need of protection under the new UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and Mandate Resettlement Scheme.

Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme

The Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme (VCRS) was launched in 2016, with the aim of resettling up to 3,000 ’at-risk’ refugee children from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including their families.

We worked closely with UNHCR to design the scheme and on their recommendation the scheme did not solely target unaccompanied children, but also extended to vulnerable children at risk, such as those threatened with child labour, child marriage and other forms of abuse or exploitation. It was open to all at risk groups and nationalities within the region.

The VCRS, which was the largest resettlement effort aimed specifically at children at risk from the MENA region, was in addition to the Government’s commitment to resettle 20,000 refugees from Syria under the VPRS.

Meeting our commitment under the VPRS also saw the VCRS come to an end. The final number of refugees who have found safety under the VCRS was 1,838. We will continue to provide a safe and legal route for vulnerable refugee children at risk through the UKRS.

Home Office Immigration Statistics on asylum and resettlement are published on a quarterly basis. A more detailed summary of the statistics relating to the full VPRS and VCRS cohorts will be published in the May edition of the Immigration Statistics. These releases will continue to report on the progress of the UKRS on a quarterly basis.