Overview

• On July 1 the Home Office enacted rule changes closing both ARAP and ACRS to new applications without prior public notice
• Since April 2021 ARAP has brought 21,316 Afghans to the UK and ACRS has resettled over 12,800 people, including a majority of children and a quarter women
• The Ministry of Defence will continue processing about 22,000 ARAP cases submitted before the cutoff and pending family referrals under ACRS
• Defence Secretary John Healey announced in December that the schemes would wind down to allow defence efforts and resources to focus on national security threats
• Safe Passage International and other charities condemn the abrupt closure as a betrayal of Afghans at risk and warn it may drive more to attempt dangerous Channel crossings