Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help support (a) people who worked for the previous administration supporting British personnel and (b) other people in Afghanistan to claim asylum in the UK.

We are committed to working in step with the international community and continue to do all we can to enable those who are eligible to relocate to the UK.

Operation PITTING was the largest UK military evacuation since the Second World War, during which we evacuated c.15,000 individuals to the UK. In the year since Op Pitting a further c. 5,000 have arrived in the UK via neighbouring countries. This is in addition to c.2000 arrivals under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) between the end of June 2021 and when the evacuation began on 14 August 2021.

Any current or former staff directly employed by the UK Government and assessed to be at serious risk of threat to life are eligible to apply for ARAP.  So far - we have relocated around 10,300 eligible Afghan citizens and their family members under the ARAP scheme since it opened in April 2021 – and the scheme remains open.

For those who are not eligible for relocation under the ARAP, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide up to 20,000 women, children, and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle and re-build their lives in the UK.

Since the scheme launched, in January this year, we have, through ACRS Pathway 1, granted Indefinite Leave to Remain to some of those already evacuated to the UK under Op PITTING.

More recently, under ACRS Pathway 2 – which opened in June - we have now begun to receive the first referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), of Afghans who have already fled their country and are seeking resettlement in the UK. We look forward to welcoming the first new arrivals under this pathway in due course.

And, under ACRS Pathway 3 – which also opened in June - the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) launched an online system on Monday 20 June, through which eligible individuals were able to express interest in UK resettlement.

The window for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) under ACRS Pathway 3 closed on 15 August 2022. The FCDO is in the process of reviewing EOIs in the order they were received and those who have submitted one will be informed of the outcome of the process and next steps, via email.

Beyond the first year of the ACRS, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans at risk.

Finally, we intend to establish a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan as soon as the security and political situation in the country allows. We are coordinating this effort with allies. This will enable us to deliver on our commitment to the people of Afghanistan, including through the provision of humanitarian aid and by bringing more vulnerable Afghan people to the UK through the ARAP and the ACRS