Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of Afghans people based in Pakistan awaiting applications to be processed by the Visa Application Centre.

The Ministry of Defence first consider all applications under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). Afghan citizens and their family members assessed as eligible for relocation will then be referred to the Home Office for permission to enter the UK.

As of June 2023, we have relocated over c.12,200 people under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy Scheme (ARAP) initiative, while over 11,500 people have been granted settled status, since the scheme launched in April 2021.