We are not aware of any eligible individuals under either the ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) or ACRS (Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme) Pathway 3 schemes in refugee camps in Pakistan. Other schemes are for the Home Office to answer. We are monitoring the situation closely and the British High Commission is in frequent contact with the Pakistani authorities to try and ensure that no ARAP or ACRS Pathway 3 eligible individuals are deported while they await relocation to the UK and are seeking assurances to this effect.

Home Office does not hold this information; FCDO lead on Chevening Scholars policy.

Our Chevening scheme for Afghanistan requires that applicants have resident status in a third country and that they are able to leave the UK at the end of their studies.

The FCDO can provide letters of consent to scholars in the UK who have completed their studies and whose visas in other countries have expired, allowing them to apply for another UK visa, exempting them from the normal requirement to leave the UK on completion of study, given the situation in Afghanistan.

Chevening awards were offered to Afghans resident in third countries for 2022-23.

The FCDO will provide a letter of consent to current scholars whose visas in other countries have expired or will expire, allowing them to apply for another UK visa, exempting them from the normal requirement to leave the UK on completion of study, given the situation in Afghanistan.

Chevening awards were offered to Afghans resident in third countries for 2022-23.

The FCDO will provide a letter of consent to current scholars whose visas in other countries have expired or will expire, allowing them to apply for another UK visa, exempting them from the normal requirement to leave the UK on completion of study, given the situation in Afghanistan.

Chevening awards were offered to Afghans resident in third countries for 2022-23.

The FCDO will provide a letter of consent to current scholars whose visas in other countries have expired or will expire, allowing them to apply for another UK visa, exempting them from the normal requirement to leave the UK on completion of study, given the situation in Afghanistan.

The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help relocate at-risk people in Afghanistan. To date, nearly 24,600 people have been brought to safety, this includes the first individuals to be relocated under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).

Under the first stage of Pathway 3, 1,500 places were made available to at risk people from three groups, who directly supported the UK and international community’s efforts in Afghanistan: British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni. Our immediate focus is on ensuring their resettlement.

Beyond the first stage of Pathway 3, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans at risk. Further detail will be set out in due course.

We recognise there are many vulnerable individuals who remain in Afghanistan and the region. Unfortunately, the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and difficult decisions about who will be prioritised have to be made.

The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle those fleeing persecution and those who served the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,600 people to safety to the UK. This includes British Nationals and their families, Afghans who loyally served the UK and others identified as particularly at-risk, such as campaigners for women’s rights, human rights defenders, Chevening scholars, journalists, judges and members of the LGBT+ community.

Whilst I cannot comment on individual cases, under Pathway 1, vulnerable and at-risk individuals who arrived in the UK under the Afghan evacuation programme have been the first to be settled under the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). This includes those Chevening scholars who were evacuated, and those who were notified by the UK Government that they had been called forward or specifically authorised for evacuation but were not able to board flights and have subsequently arrived in the UK.

Individuals on the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Chevening programmes who were in the UK and did not meet the eligibility requirements for ACRS Pathway 3, which includes Chevening alumni at risk, were granted Indefinite Leave to Remain outside of the Rules, alongside their immediate family members who were also already in the UK.

Chevening awards were offered to Afghans resident in safe third countries for the academic year 2022-23. It was made clear to applicants that the scholarship is not an offer of resettlement and that the usual Chevening policy would apply, including the requirement to leave the UK at the end of their scholarship.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#local-authority-data (table Asy_D11).

We do publish details of the nationality of asylum seekers at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets (table Asy_D01 for all asylum seekers,:Asy_D09 for asylum seekers on support), but not by location. These figures are not available in a reportable format and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Data are published on a quarterly basis, with the next quarterly figures due to be released in late May 2023.

The UK is a member of Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees, a policy group established in 2019 to bring together regional governments, the United Nations and donors to support long-term solutions for Afghan refugees. We encourage Pakistan to include refugees in services provided to the wider population. The Foreign Secretary raised Afghanistan, including the relocation of eligible Afghans, when he spoke to Foreign Minister Bhutto-Zardari on 20 December 2022. The UK has provided £6.5 million to support refugee preparedness in Pakistan and offer vital health services and additional nutritional support to communities hosting refugees.

Thanks to an enormous collaborative effort across the public and private sector, we have welcomed over 21,000 Afghans and continue to receive more families each month. Work is continuing across Government to ensure the Afghans who stood side by side with us in conflict, their families and those at highest risk who have been evacuated, are supported as they now rebuild their lives in the UK. We are encouraging all councils to work alongside us to provide accommodation and support for Afghans in need of our compassion and support to rebuild their lives in the UK. C.7,000 Afghans have now been moved into permanent accommodation.

We have announced a £25.5 million Housing Costs fund to help meet the costs of housing. The additional housing support is being provided to enable local authorities to come forward with offers of accommodation to larger families as soon as possible. For example, it can be used to provide a top up payment, where it is needed to meet the gap between market rent and the Local Housing Allowance, or to help meet shortfalls which impact on a family's ability to cover their rent.

In the longer-term, the provision of affordable housing is a key element of the Government's plan to end the housing crisis, tackle homelessness and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow. Around half the homes will be for affordable and social rent and we will deliver more than double the amount of social rent compared to the current programme, with around 32,000 social rent homes due to be delivered.

We have been working hard to support Afghan families into homes of their own, so that they can settle into their local communities, feel safe and independent and rebuild their lives in the UK.

We have made improvements to the accommodation matching process, which took effect from 9 May. Before we match individuals and families to accommodation, we will talk to them to make sure we have all the necessary information about their circumstances to enable us to make an appropriate offer of accommodation, taking in to account education, health and faith needs, as well as employment, family links and caring responsibilities. We will ensure also that the accommodation offered will meet all relevant health and safety requirements, be in a good state of repair and will be furnished. Where necessary, adaptations to the property will be made before the household move in to ensure that it is accessible for any residents with a known disability. The accommodation will be available for a minimum of 12 months. It will be affordable for the household, considering the financial resource available to them, including any Government support for which they are eligible. Accommodation will be of suitable size to accommodate all household members.

The length of time that a family will remain in bridging hotels is dependent on several factors including the availability of appropriate housing. We encourage families to accept appropriate properties as quickly as possible and urge local authorities to continue to do all they can to help house people.

Family members of British citizens and settled persons, including those with humanitarian protection in the UK, who were not called forward for evacuation as part of Op PITTING, or who have not been offered resettlement under the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme, are able to apply to come to the UK under the existing economic or family migration and reunion rules.

The British Embassy in Kabul has currently suspended in country operations and all UK diplomatic and consular staff have been temporarily withdrawn.

The UK is working with international partners to secure safe routes out of Afghanistan as soon as they become available, but while the security situation remains extremely volatile, we recommend people in Afghanistan do not make applications and pay application fees at this time as they will not be considered until biometrics are provided. Those Afghans who are outside of Afghanistan and able to get to a Visa Application Centre to provide their biometrics can make an application in the usual way.

A full policy statement on this matter published on 13 September 2021 can be found here:

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

No Ministerial directions were issued on the handling of animals connected with the Nowzad charity.

Between 15 and 29 August, the Department evacuated over 15,000 people from Afghanistan.

The Home Office is supporting those currently in the UK with 6 months leave to apply for and be granted ILR. Our aim is to conclude this process before individuals’ leave to remain expires.

The data on those who have received their Biometrics Residency Permits is internal management data and therefore not suitable for publication at this stage.

For those coming through both the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), once granted Indefinite Leave to Remain, beneficiaries over the age of 19 have immediate access to funding through the Department for Education’s Adult Education budget including English For Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses.

As part of Operation Warm Welcome, the funding package offered to Local Authorities, who have pledged support to the ARAP and ACRS cohort, is additional funding of £850 per adult over the age of 19 which will be made available to assist with English Language training.

This funding is available for the first year in country.

Resources from the BBC can be found here BBC Learning English - Beginners English. The Open University has curated a series of short courses especially English provision and other resources for refugees. It is free to all and available at https://www.open.edu/openlearn/society-politics-law/resources-refugees

As part of Operation Warm Welcome, Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) those in the UK are entitled to Indefinite Leave to Remain.

The Home Office has now started the process to support them in applying for and being granted Indefinite Leave to Remain.

The data on those who have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain is not currently available but once published we will direct to the publication.

No Ministerial directions were issued by FCDO Ministers in relation to evacuating animals from Afghanistan.

The decision to offer Nowzad staff evacuation was taken outside the FCDO.

As he said at the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee’s, the Secretary of State for Defence gave clear direction that the MOD evacuation should not prioritise animals over people.

The Nowzad flight was privately chartered and took place after the UK evacuation effort had ceased. UK military planners were able to assist Mr Farthing with the clearances required for the charter to land at Kabul airport by making an introduction between the charter company and the air operations staff managing the flight access. UK military personnel also enabled access to the aircraft by providing safe passage through the airport gate. This assistance did not detract from the Op Pitting response and the MOD had no further role in the evacuation of animals, including on the Nowzad flight.

'Special cases' can refer either to Category 4 of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), or to an arrangement by which, during the evacuation, FCDO Ministers, in consultation with Home Office and MoD Ministers, decided which cohorts of other especially vulnerable Afghans should be prioritised for military evacuation as and when flight capacity permitted under 'Leave Outside the Rules' (LOTR). The LOTR provision enabled the Government to offer evacuation to almost 1200 people who would otherwise have been unable to leave Afghanistan. In addition, some special cases were part of the ARAP cohort. However, as the ARAP application process does not enable distinction between categories of application, it is not possible to provide a definitive figure.