Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to secure visas for the children of British Nationals who are still in Afghanistan.

Family members of British citizens who were not called forward as part of Op Pitting will need to apply to come to the UK under the existing economic or family migration rules.

They will be expected to meet the eligibility requirements of their chosen route, which includes paying relevant fees and charges, and providing biometrics. There is currently no option to give biometrics in Afghanistan

The British Embassy in Kabul has suspended in-country operations and all UK diplomatic and consular staff have been temporarily withdrawn. The UK is working with international partners to secure safe routes out of Afghanistan as soon as they become available, but while the security situation remains extremely volatile, we recommend people in Afghanistan do not make applications and pay application fees at this time as they will not be considered until biometrics are provided. Those Afghans who are outside of Afghanistan and able to get to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) to provide their biometrics are able to make an application in the usual way

If the child is a British national, we are not currently able to issue passports or Emergency Travel Documents in Afghanistan. To obtain an Emergency Travel Document, a family member would need to attend one of our Embassies and High Commissions in neighbouring countries, where face to face consular services are available to British nationals.