Letter from DARR to ARP-eligible individuals who remain outside the UK regarding the 2022 data incident
Published 15 July 2025
© Crown copyright 2025
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/letters-from-defence-afghan-relocation-and-resettlement-darr-uk-ministry-of-defence-to-afghan-resettlement-programme-arp-individuals-regarding-2/letter-from-darr-to-arp-eligible-individuals-who-remain-outside-the-uk-regarding-the-2022-data-incident
We are writing to inform you of a data loss incident that affects applications to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme and Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS) made on or before 7 January 2022. This incident occurred when a spreadsheet used for case working was sent outside of official UK Government systems in February 2022 due to a departmental error, in a clear breach of our strict data protection protocols.
We want to reassure you that this letter is solely to notify you of the incident and does not affect your eligibility for resettlement in the UK. To confirm whether your data was included in the incident, please use the self-checker tool at: Data Incident Self-Checker.
The Ministry of Defence sincerely apologises for any concern this news will have caused. Everyone who applied for the ARAP and EGS schemes should have been able to do so in the knowledge that their information would be safe and secure. We want to reassure you this letter is solely to notify you of the incident, and as someone eligible to the ARP, your status is not affected, and you do not need to take action.
In response to this incident, the Government carefully considered any risk this compromised data posed to affected individuals and took proactive actions including relocations to the UK via the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR). We have also acted to prevent the data being shared further.
If you are still in Afghanistan, we remind you that you should not attempt to travel to another country without the correct documentation or you will be at risk of deportation.
If you have any questions or require support, further information is available at the Ministry of Defence’s Information Service Centre.