Thousands of Afghans nonetheless in limbo over whether or not they can come to security in UK | EUROtoday

Tens of hundreds of Afghans are nonetheless ready to seek out out if they are going to be given sanctuary within the UK 5 years after the autumn of Kabul, with a warning that “urgent intervention” is required to relocate all households as deliberate by March 2029.

The National Audit Office (NAO) discovered that 37,950 folks had arrived within the UK beneath varied Afghan resettlement schemes by the top of 2025 – with almost half of those folks evacuated in 2021 within the fallout from the Taliban takeover.

However, some 29,655 persons are nonetheless ready to be taught whether or not they are going to be allowed to resettle in Britain beneath the schemes, which can value the UK £5.7bn in complete. The schemes closed to new candidates in July final yr, simply earlier than it was revealed that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had been chargeable for an enormous knowledge leak of candidates’ particulars that put hundreds of lives in danger.

The authorities is working to relocate households eligible to return to Britain as a consequence of their earlier assist of the UK forces in Afghanistan, or as a consequence of their knowledge being breached.

Ministers have dedicated to bringing all eligible Afghans to the UK by March 2029 beneath the brand new mixed scheme, the Afghan Resettlement Programme. However, the officer accountable for the programme believes they are going to be unable to fulfill this goal except there’s “urgent intervention”, the NAO report revealed.

Problems with the evacuation scheme embody a scarcity of sources to deal with the hundreds of instances, the deportation of Afghans from Pakistan to Afghanistan earlier than they are often moved to the UK, and a scarcity of obtainable locations to accommodate them in Britain, leading to larger than anticipated ranges of homelessness.

The authorities has to this point spent £3.1bn on the schemes, which leaves an additional £2.6bn to be spent earlier than 2033, the report stated.

The report stated that officers estimate round 9,741 extra people who find themselves already within the resettlement system will likely be relocated to the UK by 2029.

Government officers additionally advised the watchdog that the MoD superinjunction – a gagging order in place for nearly two years to cowl up the info leak and the resettlement of Afghans because of the knowledge breach – impeded their capability to work collectively throughout departments.

Gareth Davies, the pinnacle of the NAO, stated authorities departments had “worked together in challenging conditions to resettle thousands of Afghan citizens” vulnerable to reprisals, however nonetheless had “more to do to successfully resettle the affected people in the UK”.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the influential Commons Public Accounts Committee, stated the NAO had “provided some much-needed transparency on the costly figures, chaotic arrangements and the inefficient decisions made by the government”.

He added: “The merger of schemes into the Afghan Resettlement Programme has led to some progress, but many risks, such as poor data and lack of affordable housing, still remain.

“There is clearly a necessity for extra to be performed to stop resettled residents experiencing poor outcomes and minimise the chance of homelessness.”

The Independent has reported on the difficulties facing Afghan families when they do arrive in the UK. One former Afghan special forces soldier told of his struggle to find suitable housing for himself and his family, despite the large sums given to councils to support such families.

A government spokesperson said:”The report clearly units out the dimensions and complexity of Afghan resettlement, and recognises the progress that has been made, with round 38,000 Afghans already settled within the UK, and we stay dedicated to our goal of finishing Afghan resettlement by the top of this parliament.

“The Afghan Resettlement Programme, introduced by this government, brings all schemes into a single pathway to deliver better outcomes for eligible Afghans and stronger value for money, with work continuing across government to ensure the programme is delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible.

“We have also recently introduced new key performance indicators to improve case handling times and provide greater transparency for applicants and their supporters – alongside an online ARAP eligibility self-checker.”