New report provides detailed overview of developments in immigration routes and resettlement schemes for Afghan refugees
The Afghan Pro Bono Initiative (APBI) last week released its latest annual report, which considers the situation in Afghanistan and the UK's response to help Afghans reach safety.
You can download the 51-page report here.
The APBI was established by Safe Passage International and Refugee Legal Support (RLS) in collaboration with 14 leading law firms. It offers pro bono legal representation to Afghan refugees.
The report, 'Still Waiting: The Afghans Abandoned by the UK', provides a detailed overview of the latest developments in the UK's immigration routes and resettlement schemes for Afghan refugees. Its findings are based on extensive casework, research, case studies, and focus group discussions with APBI's clients and Afghan community members.
As the report notes, there are three main immigration routes for Afghans into the UK:
- Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which enables Afghan citizens who worked for or with the Government in Afghanistan in exposed or meaningful roles to relocate to the UK with a partner, dependant children and any additional family deemed eligible.
- Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), which allows vulnerable Afghans and those who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan to be referred for resettlement in the UK.
- Family Visas including Refugee Family Reunion, which allow relatives of those in the UK who meet the strict requirements to be granted a UK visa.
APBI's report finds that progress in the past year has been limited, with the schemes still plagued by delays and inconsistent decision-making which have left eligible Afghans in very vulnerable situations for months, and sometimes years.
The report states: "Last year, we called on the Government to develop a clear plan for family reunion under the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway. We were encouraged when the Government opened the separated families pathway in July 2024 for separated families. However, significant challenges remain. The Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and ACRS continue to struggle with serious implementation issues. Many vulnerable Afghans find themselves trapped in grave danger, either in Afghanistan or in surrounding countries, due to inflexible criteria and inconsistent decision-making. The limited options for family reunion only add to the pain of separation."
A major issue highlighted in the report is a lack of promptness, clarity, and consistency in the Home Office's decision-making.
The report explains: "One of the key issues that APBI's clients still face with the ARAP scheme is the decision-making process: there remain lengthy delays, as well as inconsistent and poorly reasoned decisions. It is positive that there are now around double the number of ARAP caseworkers compared with January 2023103 which were the latest figures we had seen when last year's report104 was published. Despite this, although progress has been made over the past year to clear the backlog and 98% of applicants have now received a decision, 80% of those still waiting have been waiting for a year or more."
Similar problems were noted with family visas. The APBI said: "As we have shown throughout this report, immigration decision-making is inherently poor. Family reunion decisions are no different. They often seem rushed, despite the delays, and lack strong reasoning. Official data on how many applications that are refused then go on to be appealed successfully is unavailable, but APBI caseworkers have had two of their appeals granted and the rest of the cases are waiting for decisions."
More positively, resettlement under the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) increased greatly, though the APBI calls for further resettlements: "At the time our 2023 report was released, just 14 people had been resettled under this pathway. We argued then that the Government urgently needed to clarify the future of Pathway 3 and widen its scope. As of August 2024, 1,365 Afghans have now been resettled under this pathway. This is a big jump from the woeful 14 who had been resettled this time last year, but more needs to be done."