Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2021 to Question 44194, on Afghanistan: Refugees, whether applicants to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme that are already in the UK will be settled before the Afghan citizens' resettlement scheme opens.

The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is separate from, and in addition to, the Afghanistan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP). Whilst the ACRS is not yet open, some of those who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme, which prioritised individuals who were considered to be at particular risk will be the first to be resettled under the ACRS. Officials are working urgently to stand up the remaining elements of the scheme, amid the complex and changing picture.

Further information on both the ARAP and the ACRS is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement-accessible-version#afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy