Reply To: Creating Fear
The Ministry of Defence has apologised after an investigation found Afghan applicants to a resettlement scheme were told they could only come to the UK if their documents were approved by the Taliban.
The UK government promised to resettle up to 20,000 eligible Afghans – including 5,000 in the first year – but has been criticised for delays in the process.
While 11,212 people were resettled in Britain under Arap, the number of admittances fell in late 2021, after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
According to Home Office data, more than 6,200 Afghans were relocated under Arap between July and September 2021. This dropped to 732 in the last quarter of 2021. One year on, only 743 were admitted in the last quarter of 2022.
As for ACRS, only 22 Afghans eligible under the scheme’s second pathway – designed for vulnerable fleeing refugees referred by the United Nations high commissioner for refugees – were resettled by the end of December.