Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what exceptional circumstances outside the normal financial requirements there are for interpreters who have worked with the British Army in Afghanistan to settle their spouses in the UK.

Under the Ex Gratia Scheme for Afghan Locally Engaged Civilians Staff scheme those eligible for relocation to the United Kingdom can apply to bring with them, at the same time, a spouse, civil partner or person over the age of 18 who has been living with them in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years prior to the date of application. These family members are not subject to the usual financial requirements.

Those beneficiaries of the scheme who wish to bring their wives to the UK at a later date, or who subsequently marry an Afghan or other national, will have to apply under the normal immigration rules and meet the financial requirements set out under those rules. There are no plans to change this.