PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Asylum: Afghanistan (18 August 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing humanitarian visas for people seeking asylum from Afghanistan to avoid people making dangerous journeys to pursue asylum.

Asked by:
Fleur Anderson (Labour)

On Wednesday 18 August, the Government announced the launch of a new bespoke Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), to welcome up to 20,000 vulnerable Afghans to the UK. The scheme will focus on those most at risk and in its first year will resettle up to 5,000 vulnerable Afghans. This scheme delivers on the Government’s commitment in the New Plan for Immigration to create safe and legal routes for those in fear of persecution and oppression in their home country. The Government is working urgently to open this route and further details will be announced in due course on gov.uk.

The new route is separate from, and in addition to, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which offers any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life priority relocation to the UK.

Answered by:
Victoria Atkins (Conservative)
6 September 2021