Next steps in the UK: immigration information for people evacuated from Afghanistan
Updated 7 February 2023
© Crown copyright 2023
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-evacuees-immigration-information/next-steps-in-the-uk-immigration-information-for-people-evacuated-from-afghanistan
This factsheet is for people evacuated from Afghanistan. It provides information on your rights and the next steps regarding your immigration status in the UK.
On behalf of the whole country, we would like to warmly welcome you to the United Kingdom.
We appreciate this will be an extremely difficult time for both you and your loved ones, but you are welcome here in the UK and we encourage you to make the most of everything the UK has to offer.
Your rights
If you do not have your passport with you, you will have received an official letter from the Home Office when you arrived in the UK.
This letter, together with either your passport and immigration stamp or the IS116 form which you were given when you arrived, are proof that you remain eligible to work and access services such as a GP (doctor), medical treatment and school places.
You can show them if you are asked to prove your immigration status, for example to:
- access benefits and services
- show that you are eligible to work
- enter into a tenancy agreement in England (this is not a requirement in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
If you do not have a passport or biometric residence permit (details below), employers, landlords, the National Health Service (NHS), local authorities and government departments can confirm your status with the Home Office:
- prospective employers should contact the Employer Checking Service
- prospective landlords should contact the Landlord Checking Service
- the NHS, local authorities and other government departments can contact the Home Office via established communication channels
You will also be eligible for financial support and accommodation if you need it. We can help you to evidence your entitlements to services and you should speak to the welfare team at the hotel if you require urgent financial support.
UK immigration routes
We will work with you to secure your long-term UK immigration status over the next six months. There are a number of different immigration routes and we will work with you to identify which is best for you.
When you arrived in the UK, you will have been given permission to stay (we call this ‘leave to enter’), usually for 6 months. We are now contacting everyone to help them complete an application form to apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) and explain how you can give your biometrics (fingerprints and photograph), if you have not already done so. We will issue you with a letter which confirms that your application for permanent immigration status is being progressed. We will then process your application as quickly as possible so that we can issue you with a biometric residence permit.
The Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP)
The Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) offers relocation to the UK for eligible Afghan citizens, employed by the UK government locally in Afghanistan in exposed, meaningful or enabling roles, and assessed to be at serious risk as a result of their work; and to those contracted to provide linguistic services to UK armed forces and who worked with us in exposed, meaningful, enabling roles that made a material difference to the delivery of the UK mission in Afghanistan.
Any current or former staff directly employed by the UK government assessed to be at serious risk of threat to life are eligible to apply for ARAP regardless of their employment status, rank or role, or length of time served.
People already relocated to the UK under the ARAP can apply free of charge to convert their limited leave into indefinite leave. This will give Afghans the certainty and stability to rebuild their lives with unrestricted rights to work and the option to apply for British citizenship in the future.
Further information on ARAP and online applications is available on GOV.UK.
ARAP family members
A partner and dependent child(ren) (under 18) can be included in an ARAP application, and they will be resettled under the Immigration Rules if the Afghan citizen is. Other family members included in an ARAP application will be considered on an exceptional basis for leave outside the Immigration Rules.
Further information on ARAP and online applications is available on GOV.UK.
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)
The UK formally opened the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) on 6 January 2022. If you arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme and if you are not eligible under the other routes, you may be resettled under the ACRS. You will be notified if you are eligible and will not need to apply to the scheme.
Further information on ACRS is available on GOV.UK.
Your family members overseas
If you have been evacuated from Afghanistan under the ARAP, eligible family members included in your application can join you in the UK once they have given their biometrics. Family members who were not included in your application can still apply to come to the UK under the ARAP, and will be considered on an exceptional basis outside the ARAP Immigration Rules.
Further information on ARAP and online applications is available on GOV.UK.
If you have been evacuated from Afghanistan under ACRS without your immediate family (spouse or partner and children under 18), further information will be made available in due course about options for reuniting with them.
If you have refugee status, and you wish to bring pre-flight family members(family with whom you had a relationship before you left Afghanistan), they can apply to come to the UK under Family Reunion Immigration Rules. There is more information on family reunion on GOV.UK.
If you do not have refugee status, and you wish to be joined by family, they would need to apply through the regular family visa route under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.
If you are overseas and were not offered resettlement under ARAP or ACRS
You will need to apply to come to the UK under the existing work, study or family Immigration Rules. You will be expected to meet the requirements of your chosen route, which includes paying relevant fees and charges, and giving biometrics.
Please note that there is currently no option to give biometrics in Afghanistan.
Find out more on visas and immigration on GOV.UK.
Existing visa holders
You may hold a visa or entry clearance to come the UK, either to work, study, visit or to join family who already live here. Depending on the visa you applied for, you may have different rights and a different length of stay in the UK.
You should check the conditions of your visa. Further information on UK visas is available on GOV.UK.
Chevening Scholars
If you are an Afghan Chevening Scholar, you should continue to liaise with your Chevening contact to find out what you need to do next.
If your permission to enter the UK has expired or is about to expire
You must contact the helpline (details below) and we will arrange to regularise your status.
If you are an employer/landlord and have been approached by someone evacuated from Afghanistan whose permission to enter the UK has expired or is about to expire, you must ask them to contact the helpline (details below) and we will arrange to regularise their status.
Helpline
If you have questions about the support available to you, you can contact the General Immigration Enquiry helpline.
Telephone: 0300 790 6268 – select option 2
Monday to Thursday, 9am to 4:45pm
Friday, 9am to 4:30pm
The helpline is closed on bank holidays.
Call charges vary depending on your phone provider and whether you use a landline or mobile. Further information on call charges is available on GOV.UK.