Refugees: Afghanistan

(asked on 1st November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2021 to Question 56158, on Immigration: Afghanistan, whether people evacuated during Operation Pitting who are subsequently referred to the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme will be granted refugee status.


Answered by
Victoria Atkins Portrait
Victoria Atkins
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This question was answered on 9th November 2021

Through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the UK will relocate up to 20,000 people at risk, including women and girls and minority groups, so they can rebuild their lives in safety.

The scheme is not yet open and remains under development. However, the first to be resettled through this scheme will be some of those who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme, which included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk – including women’s rights activists, prosecutors and journalists.

Those resettled through the ACRS will receive fee-free indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK, the right to work and immediate access to benefits if necessary. They will be able to apply for British citizenship after five years in the UK under existing rules and subject to the appropriate fee.

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