The Afghan resettlement scheme for those who served alongside British troops is being suddenly closed as of 3pm on Tuesday.
The changes have been snuck out in an explanatory memorandum to new immigration rules published by the Home Office.
The Ministry of Defence’s resettlement programme for Afghans who fought and served alongside British troops, called the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap), will close to new applicants as of Tuesday.
Under the new rules, an Afghan applicant must have applied for help on or after 1 April 2021 and before 3pm BST on 1 July 2025 to be considered eligible.
No announcement has been made about the closure of the scheme on Tuesday. Charities slammed the government for “shutting down a lifeline” for Afghans living in fear from the Taliban.
Gunes Kalkan, head of campaigns at Safe Passage International, said the move would leave “people, including the children and families we support, in dangerous situations with no hope of rescue”.
He added: “We are shocked that the government has today quietly announced the closure of the resettlement routes for Afghans – a lifeline for those who continue to be persecuted and forced into hiding from the Taliban.
“Instead of closing down safe routes, this government must open more and continue to help Afghans to reach protection and loved ones”.
Defence secretary John Healey said at the end of last year that resettlement schemes for Afghans to come to the UK will be merged and eventually closed down, but did not give a time frame for when this would be.
According to government data up to the end of May 2025, 21,316 people have been brought to the UK under the Arap scheme.
The operation of the scheme has come under criticism for mistakes made by caseworkers that saw hundreds of people who should have been eligible for UK relocation rejected and left to the mercy of the Taliban.
The High Court heard in May that the process for determining whether former members of Afghan special forces who served alongside British troops can be resettled to the UK was a “disaster area” so terrible it could be likened to a “crime scene”.
The MoD is currently undertaking a review of thousands of applications of Afghans linked to specialist units after inconsistencies were found in how their resettlement applications were handled.
The changes published on Tuesday affect future principal applications. People who have already been found eligible for the Arap scheme will still be able to make applications to bring their family members to safety.
