International Citizen Service (ICS)

Cecelia Knight made this Freedom of Information request to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was refused by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Dear Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,

I am writing to request information regarding the International Citizen Service (ICS) programme. The previous contracts for ICS ended in 2020, but the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) website mentions that "The UK government announced in April 2023, that a new ICS programme will be launched in the coming year."

I would like to request the following information: What is the current process for restarting the ICS programme? Are there any prospective plans for the new ICS programme? If so, can you provide a summary of these plans? How has the change in government affected the plans and timeline for restarting the ICS programme? When can the public expect further announcements or updates regarding the ICS programme?

Thank you very much.

Yours faithfully,

Cecelia Knight

Information Rights, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Thank you for contacting the FCDO Information Rights Unit (IRU).

 

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING ADVICE

 

Once we have officially accepted your request, we are unable to provide
progress updates within the initial 20 working day deadline for response.

Please do not send multiple emails about the same enquiry, as this is
likely to cause a delay in our response time. 

Should you need assistance in making or refining your request you may wish
to consult the gov.uk guide on [1]How to make a Freedom of Information
(FOI) request

 

The Information rights Unit are not able to respond to queries on the
issues mentioned below. Emails about these issues will be deleted without
response. Please note the relevant guidance and redirect your query
accordingly. 

 

 

Afghanistan related enquiries

The UK evacuation operation has now ceased. The security situation in
Afghanistan remains extremely volatile. There is an ongoing and high
threat of terrorist attack. The potential for terrorist attacks,
particularly around Kabul airport, remains very high. British nationals
remaining in Afghanistan need to consider carefully the risks should they
attempt to leave by any route. We advise against all travel to
Afghanistan. We continue to closely monitor events in Afghanistan. Please
check our travel advice for our latest advice for British nationals, and
subscribe for updates.

The British Embassy in Kabul has suspended in-country operations. All UK
diplomatic and consular staff have been temporarily withdrawn. The ability
to provide consular support to British nationals is extremely limited and
is being provided virtually. If you are a British national in Afghanistan
and need to speak to a consular officer call the FCDO on +441908 516666
(or 01908 516666 in the UK). The FCDO cannot offer advice on the safety of
travelling to any alternative departure point.

British nationals who remain in Afghanistan are strongly encouraged to
[2]register their presence in order to receive important updates. This
will enable us to validate the numbers of British nationals seeking
assistance, and to provide essential information to British nationals that
remain in Afghanistan, when it becomes available.

If you are an Afghan national and are eligible or have been approved for
assistance under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP),there
is more information here:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

If you are a non-British national in Afghanistan, or are the family member
of a non-British national in Afghanistan, and in need of assistance,
please see
[4]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-...
or call +44 2475 389 980 (or 02475 389 980 in the UK).

Current and former locally employed UK government staff, ie those who were
employed directly by the UK government, not through a third party, should
apply to ARAP following this link:
[5]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio....

Further information on the ARAP scheme can be found here:
[6]https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021...

If you have already applied for ARAP, and would like an update on your
application, please re-send your query here:
[7][email address]

 

Non-Afghanistan related Consular Assistance for British Nationals  

 

If you are a British national seeking urgent consular assistance, please
call the Consular Assistance Team on 020 7008 5000 (or +44 20 7008
5000).   

 

ATAS Certificates

 

Email [8][email address] if you have a query about your application. We
are unable to reply to any query on an application.

 

Legalisation

 

Contact the Legalisation Office if you need an update on an application or
if you have a general enquiry: [9][email address], Telephone:
03700 00 22 44
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, [10]Find out about call charges

 

Visas

 

Please see guidance on [11]Applying for a visa to come to the UK or
contact [12]UK Visas and immigration for help.

 

Travel Advice

If you require travel advice for your destination country, please visit
the [13]Travel Advice pages, which contain the latest information on
coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and areas where the
FCDO advises against travel. You can also subscribe to travel advice
email alerts for your destination and monitor the FCDO coronavirus travel
advice page. You can follow FCDO Travel social media channels
on [14]Twitter, [15]Facebook and [16]Instagram. If you have a question
about the advice or a topic that is not covered, [17]please submit an
enquiry.  

 

Follow us online: www.gov.uk/fcdo

This email is intended for the addressee(s) only: All messages sent and
received by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office may be
monitored in line with relevant [18]UK legislation

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...
2. https://www.register-afghanistan.service...
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
4. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-...
5. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
6. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021...
7. mailto:[email address]
8. mailto:[email address]
9. mailto:[email address]
10. https://www.gov.uk/call-charges
11. https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-come-to-the-uk
12. https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-o...
13. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
14. https://twitter.com/fcdotravelgovuk
15. https://www.facebook.com/fcdotravel
16. https://www.instagram.com/travelaware/
17. https://www.contact-embassy.service.gov....
18. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Dear Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,

It has now been over twenty working days since my enquiry was made. Do you have an update?

Yours faithfully,

Cecelia Knight

Information Rights, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Thank you for contacting the FCDO Information Rights Unit (IRU).

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING ADVICE

Once we have officially accepted your request, we are unable to provide
progress updates within the initial 20 working day deadline for response.

Please do not send multiple emails about the same enquiry, as this is
likely to cause a delay in our response time. 

Should you need assistance in making or refining your request you may wish
to consult the gov.uk guide on [1]How to make a Freedom of Information
(FOI) request

The Information rights Unit are not able to respond to queries on the
issues mentioned below. Emails about these issues will be deleted without
response. Please note the relevant guidance and redirect your query
accordingly. 

Afghanistan related enquiries

The UK evacuation operation has now ceased. The security situation in
Afghanistan remains extremely volatile. There is an ongoing and high
threat of terrorist attack. The potential for terrorist attacks,
particularly around Kabul airport, remains very high. British nationals
remaining in Afghanistan need to consider carefully the risks should they
attempt to leave by any route. We advise against all travel to
Afghanistan. We continue to closely monitor events in Afghanistan. Please
check our travel advice for our latest advice for British nationals, and
subscribe for updates.

The British Embassy in Kabul has suspended in-country operations. All UK
diplomatic and consular staff have been temporarily withdrawn. The ability
to provide consular support to British nationals is extremely limited and
is being provided virtually. If you are a British national in Afghanistan
and need to speak to a consular officer call the FCDO on +441908 516666
(or 01908 516666 in the UK). The FCDO cannot offer advice on the safety of
travelling to any alternative departure point.

British nationals who remain in Afghanistan are strongly encouraged to
[2]register their presence in order to receive important updates. This
will enable us to validate the numbers of British nationals seeking
assistance, and to provide essential information to British nationals that
remain in Afghanistan, when it becomes available.

If you are an Afghan national and are eligible or have been approved for
assistance under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP),there
is more information here:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

If you are a non-British national in Afghanistan, or are the family member
of a non-British national in Afghanistan, and in need of assistance,
please see
[4]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-...
or call +44 2475 389 980 (or 02475 389 980 in the UK).

Current and former locally employed UK government staff, ie those who were
employed directly by the UK government, not through a third party, should
apply to ARAP following this link:
[5]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio....

Further information on the ARAP scheme can be found here:
[6]https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021...

If you have already applied for ARAP, and would like an update on your
application, please re-send your query here: [7][email address]

 

Non-Afghanistan related Consular Assistance for British Nationals  

If you are a British national seeking urgent consular assistance, please
call the Consular Assistance Team on 020 7008 5000 (or +44 20 7008
5000).   

ATAS Certificates

Email [8][email address] if you have a query about your application. We
are unable to reply to any query on an application.

Legalisation

Contact the Legalisation Office if you need an update on an application or
if you have a general enquiry: [9][email address], Telephone: 03700 00 22
44
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, [10]Find out about call charges

Visas

Please see guidance on [11]Applying for a visa to come to the UK or
contact [12]UK Visas and immigration for help.

Travel Advice

If you require travel advice for your destination country, please visit
the [13]Travel Advice pages, which contain the latest information on
coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and areas where the
FCDO advises against travel. You can also subscribe to travel advice
email alerts for your destination and monitor the FCDO coronavirus travel
advice page. You can follow FCDO Travel social media channels
on [14]Twitter, [15]Facebook and [16]Instagram. If you have a question
about the advice or a topic that is not covered, [17]please submit an
enquiry.  

Follow us online: www.gov.uk/fcdo

This email is intended for the addressee(s) only: All messages sent and
received by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office may be
monitored in line with relevant [18]UK legislation

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...
2. https://www.register-afghanistan.service...
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
4. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-...
5. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
6. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021...
7. mailto:[email%20address]
8. mailto:[email%20address]
9. mailto:[email%20address]
10. https://www.gov.uk/call-charges
11. https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-come-to-the-uk
12. https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-o...
13. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
14. https://twitter.com/fcdotravelgovuk
15. https://www.facebook.com/fcdotravel
16. https://www.instagram.com/travelaware/
17. https://www.contact-embassy.service.gov....
18. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Dear Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's handling of my FOI request 'International Citizen Service (ICS)'.

It is now a week delayed, as I should have received a response by 28th August 2024. I have not received any explanation for the delay.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...

Thank you very much,

Yours faithfully,

Cecelia Knight

Information Rights, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

1 Attachment

Thank you for contacting the FCDO Information Rights Unit (IRU).

 

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING ADVICE

 

Once we have officially accepted your request, we are unable to provide
progress updates within the initial 20 working day deadline for response.

Please do not send multiple emails about the same enquiry, as this is
likely to cause a delay in our response time. 

Should you need assistance in making or refining your request you may wish
to consult the gov.uk guide on [1]How to make a Freedom of Information
(FOI) request

 

The Information rights Unit are not able to respond to queries on the
issues mentioned below. Emails about these issues will be deleted without
response. Please note the relevant guidance and redirect your query
accordingly. 

 

 

Afghanistan related enquiries

The UK evacuation operation has now ceased. The security situation in
Afghanistan remains extremely volatile. There is an ongoing and high
threat of terrorist attack. The potential for terrorist attacks,
particularly around Kabul airport, remains very high. British nationals
remaining in Afghanistan need to consider carefully the risks should they
attempt to leave by any route. We advise against all travel to
Afghanistan. We continue to closely monitor events in Afghanistan. Please
check our travel advice for our latest advice for British nationals, and
subscribe for updates.

The British Embassy in Kabul has suspended in-country operations. All UK
diplomatic and consular staff have been temporarily withdrawn. The ability
to provide consular support to British nationals is extremely limited and
is being provided virtually. If you are a British national in Afghanistan
and need to speak to a consular officer call the FCDO on +441908 516666
(or 01908 516666 in the UK). The FCDO cannot offer advice on the safety of
travelling to any alternative departure point.

British nationals who remain in Afghanistan are strongly encouraged to
[2]register their presence in order to receive important updates. This
will enable us to validate the numbers of British nationals seeking
assistance, and to provide essential information to British nationals that
remain in Afghanistan, when it becomes available.

If you are an Afghan national and are eligible or have been approved for
assistance under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP),there
is more information here:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

If you are a non-British national in Afghanistan, or are the family member
of a non-British national in Afghanistan, and in need of assistance,
please see
[4]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-...
or call +44 2475 389 980 (or 02475 389 980 in the UK).

Current and former locally employed UK government staff, ie those who were
employed directly by the UK government, not through a third party, should
apply to ARAP following this link:
[5]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio....

Further information on the ARAP scheme can be found here:
[6]https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021...

If you have already applied for ARAP, and would like an update on your
application, please re-send your query here:
[7][email address]

 

Non-Afghanistan related Consular Assistance for British Nationals  

 

If you are a British national seeking urgent consular assistance, please
call the Consular Assistance Team on 020 7008 5000 (or +44 20 7008
5000).   

 

ATAS Certificates

 

Email [8][email address] if you have a query about your application. We
are unable to reply to any query on an application.

 

Legalisation

 

Contact the Legalisation Office if you need an update on an application or
if you have a general enquiry: [9][email address], Telephone:
03700 00 22 44
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, [10]Find out about call charges

 

Visas

 

Please see guidance on [11]Applying for a visa to come to the UK or
contact [12]UK Visas and immigration for help.

 

Travel Advice

If you require travel advice for your destination country, please visit
the [13]Travel Advice pages, which contain the latest information on
coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and areas where the
FCDO advises against travel. You can also subscribe to travel advice
email alerts for your destination and monitor the FCDO coronavirus travel
advice page. You can follow FCDO Travel social media channels
on [14]Twitter, [15]Facebook and [16]Instagram. If you have a question
about the advice or a topic that is not covered, [17]please submit an
enquiry.  

 

Follow us online: www.gov.uk/fcdo

This email is intended for the addressee(s) only: All messages sent and
received by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office may be
monitored in line with relevant [18]UK legislation

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...
2. https://www.register-afghanistan.service...
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
4. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-...
5. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
6. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021...
7. mailto:[email address]
8. mailto:[email address]
9. mailto:[email address]
10. https://www.gov.uk/call-charges
11. https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-come-to-the-uk
12. https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-o...
13. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
14. https://twitter.com/fcdotravelgovuk
15. https://www.facebook.com/fcdotravel
16. https://www.instagram.com/travelaware/
17. https://www.contact-embassy.service.gov....
18. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Information Rights, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

OFFICIAL

Dear Cecelia Knight,

Thank you for your email to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(FCDO).

We are writing to inform you that your request will not be handled under
the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act as we do not consider it as a request
for recorded information. Therefore, we are unable to accept an Internal
Review of your request.

Your request has been passed to the relevant team within the FCDO and you
will receive a substantive response from that team in due course.

We apologise for the delay in writing to you.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Unit

OFFICIAL

show quoted sections

fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk,

1 Attachment

Dear Cecelia Knight,

Thank you for your recent correspondence of 29th July to the Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office. Please see the attached reply.

Yours sincerely,

Parliamentary Correspondence Team
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

This email is intended for the addressee(s) only. All messages sent and
received by the FCDO may be monitored in line with relevant UK
legislation.

Please do not respond to this email address, as replies are routed to an
unmonitored mailbox. If you require additional information please contact
[1][email address]

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email%20address]