Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 5 September 2025 to question 69493, how many: (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) reviews, and (b) Additional Family Member (AFM) reviews have been completed since 17 July 2025, what is the current mean average time for all ARAP and AFM reviews, and how many of each remain outstanding.

Since 17 July 2025, the MOD have made decisions on 618 ARAP reviews, and 178 AFM reviews.

Upon taking office, the government inherited a significant backlog in applications which we have been working through. As part of improving performance, I directed the Department to develop and implement ARAP Casework Key Performance Indictors (KPIs) based on the timeliness of decision making. These KPIs commit to indicative timeframes against each different types of ARAP Casework, albeit timelines may differ depending on the complexity of the case. Further information on KPIs is available in the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy/introduction-of-kpis-for-arap-eligibility-case-working

As of 19 March 2026, 3,487 valid ARAP reviews and 828 valid ARAP AFM reviews remain outstanding from the total number received. A valid review is one which is appropriately and sequentially raised.

The current mean average time for processing all ARAP and AFM reviews, closed with a decision made, is 159 days and 322 days respectively.