Evacuated Afghan refugees can reunite in UK with families, government announces

‘Afghans did right by us, and we will do right by them’, immigration minister says

Afghans who became separated during the chaos of the Western evacuation of Afghanistan will be able to apply to reunite with their families in the UK under a new government scheme.

Refugees who have been relocated to the UK under the Home Office’s Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) for vulnerable and at-risk people will be eligible to apply.

Some 6,469 people have come to the UK under this pathway, including women’s rights activists, journalists and prosecutors.

Close family members eligible for relocation include the spouses and partners of Afghans already in the UK under ACRS. It also includes children who were under the age of 18 at the time of the evacuation. Afghan children who were evacuated without their parents will also be able to apply to relocate their parents or siblings to the UK.

Immigration minister Seema Malhotra announced the expansion of the scheme, saying: “It is our moral duty to ensure that families who were tragically separated are reunited and are not left at the mercy of the Taliban, which is why I have expanded ACRS so that those who were left behind can be resettled in the UK.

Passengers evacuated from Afghanistan disembark from a British Royal Air Force (RAF) Airbus KC2 Voyager aircraft, after landing at RAF Brize Norton station in southern England on August 24, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

“Afghans did right by us, and we will do right by them, ensuring our system is fair and supports those most at-risk and vulnerable.”

MPs from all major political parties had been calling on the government to widen the ACRS scheme before the election.

Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the UK initially pledged to accept 20,000 people over five years under the Home Office’s scheme for vulnerable Afghans.

Since the initial evacuation, the relocation of people to the UK has been slow, MPs have said.

Ms Malhotra said: “It’s been almost three years since the evacuation of Kabul, and yet there remains an urgent need to ensure that those who assisted our efforts in Afghanistan by upholding democracy, freedom and human rights, often at huge personal risk to themselves and their families can be reunited.”

Charities welcomed the announcement, with Refuge Council CEO Enver Solomon saying it is “hugely welcome”.

He added: “Over the last three years we’ve worked with many families who were torn apart in the chaos of evacuating Kabul. They will now have a way to be safely together again thanks to the swift action that has been taken by the government.

“For the children who have been apart from their parents for far too long, we know this will be life changing.”

Gunes Kalkan, head of campaigns at Safe Passage International, said: “Families have been waiting nearly three years for a long-promised way to reunite. This will be life changing for the parents and children who have been separated all this time.”