UK PM Boris Johnson Shares Details of UK Resettlement Scheme for Afghans

Johnson told Westminster politicians on Monday that the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history is over, with 15,000 people having been brought to safety in the UK.

Boris Johnson stood before the House of Commons MPs on Monday to talk about Britain’s handling of the Afghanistan crisis. He reiterated the government’s commitment to helping Afghans who worked for the British, and said that the UK is working with partners in the region to try to secure their safe passage out of Afghanistan.

The UK’s Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme (ACRS) is expected to provide protection for Afghan citizens identified as most at risk, such as women and girls.

London agreed to take around 5,000 people in the first year and 20,000 in the next few years. 

During the parliamentary session on Monday, Johnson said the UK resettlement will include Afghans who contributed to civil society or who face a particular risk from the Taliban*, and they will receive five-year visa.

The UK government is working “urgently to get the Afghanistan citizens’ resettlement scheme up and running”, but there hasn’t yet been an official launch of the ACRS.

The UK launched the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) in 2021, under which any current or former Locally Employed Staff (LES) directly employed by HMG in Afghanistan assessed to be at serious risk of threat to life will be eligible to apply regardless of their employment status, rank or role, or length of time served.

"Given the security situation in Kabul, LES who meet the eligibility criteria for relocation under the ARAP scheme will have the opportunity to apply for limited leave to enter the UK under the Immigration Rules (HC 395). Successful applicants will receive a UK visa, which grants five years Leave to Enter the UK, with an opportunity in the future to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK at the end of that five-year period. Eligible LES will be able to bring certain family members with them to the UK. The details of which family members can be brought with eligible LES are set out in the Immigration Rules (HC 395)," the Ministry of Defence said. 

The support for Afghan arrivals in the UK includes £3 million additional NHS funding so they can get access to healthcare and register with a GP once they leave quarantine, the COVID-19 vaccine and £5 million funding for councils to help them find accommodation, among other measures. 

We owe it to those who have worked with us in Afghanistan to help them build a new life in the UK.

We are making sure all arrivals are:

➡️ registered with a GP

➡️ given the healthcare checks they need

➡️ offered COVID-19 vaccinationhttps://t.co/g3EyHLJug5

— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) September 1, 2021

​Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader in Westminster, said that if Johnson wanted to show a warm welcome to refugees, the government should withdraw the Nationality and Borders Bill, which makes arriving in the UK without permission a criminal offence. 

Johnson didn't accept the suggestion, saying the UK has offered a safe and lawful route for thousands of Afghans to enter the UK.

The PM also said that the government would spend what was necessary on counterterrorism, when asked by former PM Theresa May whether he accepted that the fall of Kabul increased the terrorist threat to the UK.

The PM and Foreign Minister Dominic Raab have faced criticism over the government's handling of the evacuation of British forces from Afghanistan after the takeover of the country by the Taliban. More than 15,000 people have been airlifted by the UK from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, since 14 August. However, around 1,100 Afghans deemed eligible to leave are feared to have been left behind.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan's capital Kabul on 15 August and announced an end to the decades-long occupation. The organisation is expected to announce members of the new government in the next days.

*The Taliban is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia.