Operation Pitting, a humanitarian British military operation to evacuate British nationals and eligible Afghans from Afghanistan following the 2021 Taliban offensive, saw more than 15,000 people airlifted to safety. These included some 8,000 Afghans who faced persecution by the Taliban due to them having assisted British forces.

On 30 July 2024, the Government announced in a written statement that the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 1 Stage 2: Separated Families had opened that day. The scheme allows Afghans who were resettled under Pathway 1 of the scheme to be reunited with family members who were separated during the evacuation from Kabul in August 2021.

The window to submit an expression of interest will only remain open for 3 months, ending on 30 October 2024. The referral form can be accessed at the bottom of this webpage.

Eligibility Criteria

Only those who have been resettled in the UK under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 1 and were evacuated during Operation Pitting between 13 August 2021 and 28 August 2021 without their immediate family members can apply to sponsor a family member.

Family members must be:

• A spouse or unmarried partner
• A dependent child aged under 18 at the time of the evacuation

Also, children who were evacuated without their parents will be able to submit an expression of interest for their parents and siblings aged under 18 at the time of the evacuation. Additional family members may be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Anyone who is resettled through the scheme will receive indefinite leave to enter the UK and will be able to apply for British citizenship after five years under existing rules. The Home Office has published guidance on submitting an expression of interest.

The scheme consists of a two-stage decision-making process where applications will first be assessed on whether they are eligible before being required to travel to their nearest visa application centre to submit a formal entry clearance application. Once biometrics have been provided and all security checks passed, eligible individuals will be granted entry clearance to enter the UK.

The Home Office is yet to confirm the time frame in which decisions can be expected following the submission of an expression of interest. Applicants could therefore face long delays in receiving decisions.

Limitations

While this is a welcome announcement, the scheme is limited in scope and risks families being separated if some members were over 18 at the time of the evacuation.

This scheme is separate from the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy which has also been beset by delays, leaving those eligible for the scheme stranded in dangerous conditions in Afghanistan. The lack of viable safe routes to the UK has forced many Afghans, some of whom worked closely with the British authorities in Kabul, to take unsafe routes to the UK. We hope to see further government policy on opening new safe routes to the UK.