Resettle eligible Afghans who served alongside UK Armed Forces

Help for Heroes is calling on the UK Government to address delays in resettling locally employed Afghan civilians who served alongside the UK Armed Forces.

As part of Operation Warm Welcome, the UK Government made a commitment to resettle Afghans who showed extraordinary courage in supporting our national efforts. At Help for Heroes, we understand the impact of service - both on the Armed Forces community and those who stood by their side in times of war. But we also see the ongoing battles these individuals face: fear for family left behind in Afghanistan, mental trauma, physical pain, and challenges re-finding their place in society. We work to prevent these struggles from becoming lifelong battles for Afghan nationals who worked under UK command.

Through our own Project Solidarity, we have supported over 200 Afghan civilians, and their families, to rebuild their lives in the UK.

Why they should be resettled

In 2021, the Government made a covenant with Afghan citizens who had served our nation’s interests by working with our Armed Forces and diplomatic services. This was a covenant that they would be resettled with their family members in the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).

Under these schemes, an eligible Afghan citizen could include a partner, dependent children, and additional family members in their application, with the expectation that, within a reasonable timeframe, those family members would be granted clearance to enter the UK and assisted in travelling via a safe route to do so.

The schemes have been plagued by delays, leaving vulnerable Afghan Locally Employed Civilians (LECs) and their families stranded, in hiding within Afghanistan, or housed at public expense in hotels throughout neighbouring countries.

WHAT'S THE LATEST?

The Government announced in December 2024 that it would be merging the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) into a single pipeline in early 2025 – the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP). The Government said at this point that the scheme would not continue indefinitely, and an update would be following on when it would be closed. The closure of the scheme was subsequently announced on July 1st 2025.

Over 34,000 Afghans have successfully relocated to the UK. All applications received to date will continue to be processed. Those who are found eligible will still have their immediate family members – such as one spouse and children under 18 – automatically considered for relocation.

We have long worked to call out the backlog in decisions being made on cases. This backlog continues. From the autumn, the Government will introduce key performance indicators for the ARAP caseload. This will aim to help people understand where they stand in the process and when they should receive a decision.

What we’ve done

• In August 2023, Help for Heroes joined forces with the Refugee Council to pen an open letter, published in The Daily Mail, to the British Government, highlighting the unfulfilled promises made to Afghans, including our troops’ translators and other locally employed civilians, two years prior. These promises must be fulfilled.
• We regularly attended stakeholder meetings with the Home Office to scrutinise the performance of the ARAP programme, most notably the plan to close bridging hotels, where most resettled Afghan were living, and move them into permanent accommodation.
• We wrote to the Minister in April 2025 to highlight challenges we know Afghan nationals are facing, which we’d like to see action on from the Government. These include...
  Securing stable housing. Many Afghan nationals are facing significant barriers, particularly relating to the lack of guarantors – a problem compounded by local authorities’ reluctance/lack of funding to assist
  Removing barriers to suitable employment. Many of these Afghan nationals hold university degrees or specialist skills, but qualifications are frequently unrecognised in the UK. Targeted measures to recognise qualifications alongside tailored language and employment assistance is essential to enable employment opportunities in line with their expertise.

Get involved in this campaign

We have always recognised the efforts of civilians embedded in the Armed Forces, who served under UK command. However, for many, safe relocation from Afghanistan is merely the first step in their journeys. Many arrive in the UK facing the same injuries and traumas that the veterans we support face, and need ongoing support to rebuild their lives in the UK.

You can help us to continue our work supporting the Afghans who served alongside us, by donating to our Project Solidarity.

If you want more information on this campaign, please contact our Senior Public Affairs and Policy Manager George Lankester at george.lankester@helpforheroes.org.uk