Minister estimates fewer than 9,000 eligible individuals are yet to be relocated to UK
The Government has today issued an update on the progress of the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP), outlining developments in eligibility decisions, relocation policies and long-term resettlement plans.
Image credit: WikipediaIn a written statement to the House of Commons, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry detailed ongoing efforts to wind down the programme within the current Parliament while maintaining support for eligible Afghan nationals.
ARP closed to new applicants last year, and the Minister reported today that outstanding applications have fallen from around 25,000 in July 2025 to fewer than 17,000, with a target to complete all eligibility decisions by spring next year. Fewer than 9,000 eligible individuals are yet to be relocated to the UK, reflecting both progress in processing cases and a lower proportion of applicants meeting the criteria than in earlier phases of the scheme.
The statement also confirms a change in relocation policy, with government-supported assistance for travel out of Afghanistan to be withdrawn. Eligible individuals will instead be expected to make their own way to a third country to continue their visa application process, aligning the programme more closely with other resettlement routes. A timeline has also been set out for concluding the scheme, including a backstop of December 2028 for relocation support, alongside plans to reduce the use of hotels and defence accommodation as part of a transition toward longer-term housing through local authorities.
A copy of the Minister's full statement follows below:
Update on the Afghan Resettlement Programme
Luke Pollard
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry
Statement
Today I am able to provide the House with a further update on the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) as we continue to make good progress towards our intent of concluding the programme in this Parliament. This statement provides an update to the House on:
- the progress Ministry of Defence (MOD) is making with eligibility decisions,
- the changes to how we deliver relocations for Afghans under the programme, and
- resettlement in the UK.
Since closing all schemes to new applicants in July 2025, we have made good progress with the application pipeline (falling from circa 25,000 outstanding applications in July to now fewer than 17,000) and are publishing quarterly Key Performance Indicators to hold ourselves to account and ensure maximum transparency. We aim to have made all decisions in the current caseload by Spring next year.
I announced last month that we have concluded the Triples Review.
We have also now initiated the closure of the Review of the Ex-Gratia Medical Payments Scheme. The scheme was set up in 2020 to provide support to former locally-employed staff in Afghanistan who were injured during their employment with MOD. In 2020, the MOD initiated a process for reviewing the EGMP cases relating to individuals who wish to have their cases re-assessed. Further detail on this is available at Ex-Gratia Medical Payments reviews - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab)
Having closed ARP schemes to new applicants last year and as we work to draw ARP to a close, we estimate there are fewer than 9,000 EPs still to relocate to the UK. This is in part because we are finding far fewer applicants meet the eligibility criteria than in the years after the scheme opened.
As part of the commitment to relocate and resettle those found eligible under the ARP schemes, MOD has been using a third-party organisation to support individuals moving out of Afghanistan. This support has been aimed at ensuring eligible individuals and their families can safely and legally reach a UK visa application centre (VAC) in a third country to progress through their Home Office entry clearance stages.
This year, however, more eligible Afghans have self-moved to a third country. Having seen increased evidence of successful self-moves and after assessing carefully again the risks to this cohort and other factors, including the value for money for the taxpayer, we have decided to end in country assistance for movements out of Afghanistan. This decision will have the effect of more closely aligning ARAP and ARR with the ACRS, which is based on a self-move policy. We will keep the ARP support offer under review as the context evolves.
Eligible Afghans will need to make their own way to a Third Country when they are able to do so. We are contacting all those immediately impacted by this change.
I want to reassure eligible Afghans that once they reach a safe Third Country, we maintain provision of our current support until 2028.
As I previously reported to the House, we cannot sustain ARP support indefinitely. To enable us to deliver on our ambitions to conclude this programme well within this Parliament and for us to prepare sensibly for the transition of ARP resources to other Defence priorities, we intend to:
- enforce the provision within the Immigration Rules that requires eligible individuals to attend a VAC appointment within 12 months – save for exceptional circumstances; and
- introduce a backstop of December 2028 for MOD's support in third countries, including submission of entry clearance applications to Home Office. Save for exceptional circumstances, December 2028 will therefore mark the end of relocations to the UK.
As set out by the Defence Secretary in his statement to Parliament on 18 December 2024, it remains the Government's aim to reduce the reliance on the Defence Estate as transitional accommodation.
The Defence Estate has played a vital role in providing transitional accommodation for Afghan families in recent years, enabling them to begin their new lives in the safety of the UK. But the use of the Defence Estate for the ARP was never intended to be a long-term solution. We have therefore ceased to run transitional sites on the Defence Estate, with the small number of Afghans remaining in transitional accommodation now supported by Local Authorities. We are also piloting an approach which empowers Local Authorities to make tailored decisions on where and how ARP households are accommodated, which will bring positive community outcomes. MOD is committed to reducing the number of Service Family Accommodation properties being used as settled accommodation and ending their use by the end of 2028.
The small number of hotels procured to help with transitional pressures also play a valuable role in providing safe and secure accommodation for Afghans as they begin their new lives in the UK. However, with a better sense of numbers yet to relocate and the strong progress made in moving those already here into settled accommodation, I can confirm we have started to reduce the use of hotels and will have closed two of six by this May.
I want to take the opportunity to thank our partners in local government and other supportive local organisations, who have, and continue to provide critical support to eligible Afghans in the resettlement process to date.
I want to restate this Government's commitment to work with all those involved in ensuring that the ARP delivers on our commitment to resettle those eligible Afghans, many of whom who do so much in support of the UK and contribute to our communities and economy.
I remain confident in progress towards our goal of concluding central government's delivery of this programme well before the end of this Parliament and believe the measures we have taken and set out in this statement will help us deliver on that. I will continue to keep the House updated accordingly.