Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by which date a (a) category four and (b) other applicant to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy would need to have applied if they were to have received a decision before 1 November 2022.

Due to the way Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) applications are processed, it is not possible to provide a response to the hon. Member's question asked as decision making timeframes can vary considerably. This is due to numerous factors, including the initial amount of evidence received, level of complexity of the case, the need to conduct checks with other Government Departments, or the length of time it takes an applicant to respond to follow-up queries. This particularly applies to those under Category Four, which are considered on a case-by-case basis and need to meet the criteria as stated on Gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy-information-and-guidance