Immigration Rules Appendix Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP)
This route is for Afghan citizens and their dependent family members to relocate to, or settle in, the UK where the Ministry of Defence has decided they meet the requirements for relocation to the UK as an eligible Afghan citizen under the ARAP (“the ARAP eligibility decision”).
An eligible Afghan citizen may include a partner, dependent children and additional family members who are eligible under the ARAP in their application.
There is a two-stage application process. An application must first be made, by the applicant, to the Ministry of Defence, who will decide if the applicant is an eligible Afghan citizen or an eligible dependant. If they are eligible for relocation to the UK, the second stage is that the Ministry of Defence will on behalf of the applicant, make an application for entry clearance (if they are outside the UK) or settlement (if they are in the UK) on behalf of the applicant.
Where an applicant is eligible for relocation to the UK, the ARAP leads to a grant of settlement in the UK.
- ARAP 1.1. An application for entry clearance or settlement as an eligible Afghan citizen must meet the following validity requirements:
- (a) the Ministry of Defence must have decided that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements in ARAP 3.1 to ARAP 3.6. and that ARAP 3.7. does not apply (the ARAP eligibility decision); and
- (b) the Ministry of Defence must have made an application for entry clearance or settlement on the applicant’s behalf no more than 12 months after the ARAP eligibility decision was made; and
- (c) the applicant must have provided any required biometrics; and
- (d) the applicant must have provided a passport or other evidence which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality; and
- (e) the applicant must be a citizen of Afghanistan; and
- (f) the applicant must be aged 18 or over on the date of application.
ARAP 1.2. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for ARAP may be rejected as invalid and not considered.
ARAP 2.1. The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part 9: Grounds for Refusal of these Rules.
ARAP 3.1. To be an eligible Afghan citizen the applicant must have applied to, and received from, the Ministry of Defence a decision that the requirements under ARAP 3.2. to ARAP 3.6. are met and that ARAP 3.7. does not apply (“the ARAP eligibility decision”).
- ARAP 3.2. An eligible Afghan citizen is a person who:
- (a) is an Afghan citizen; and
- (b) is aged 18 years or over; and
- (c) meets the eligibility requirements in at least one of ARAP 3.3 to ARAP 3.6; and
- (d) ARAP 3.7. must not apply.
- ARAP 3.3. A person meets the ARAP eligibility requirement if:
- (a) they submit an application on or after 1 April 2021; and
- (b) at least one of the following eligibility requirements applies:
- (i) ARAP 3.4. (high and imminent risk of threat to life);
- (ii) ARAP 3.5. (former employees eligible for relocation); and
- (iii) ARAP 3.6. (special cases).
- ARAP 3.4. A person meets the eligibility requirement if:
- (a) they were at any time on or after 1 October 2001 directly employed in Afghanistan by a UK Government department; and
- (b) because of that employment, there is a high and imminent risk of a threat to their life.
- ARAP 3.5. A person meets the eligibility requirements if:
- (a) at any time on or after 1 October 2001, the person:
- (i) was directly employed in Afghanistan by a UK Government department; or
- (ii) provided linguistic services to or for the benefit of members of the UK’s armed forces in Afghanistan under contract to a UK Government department (whether as, or on behalf of, a party to the contract); and
- (b) the nature of the role in which the person was employed was such that the UK’s operations in Afghanistan would have been materially less efficient or materially less successful if a role or roles of that nature had not been performed; and
- (c) the nature of the role exposed the person to being publicly recognised as having performed that role; and
- (d) as a result of that public recognition, the person’s safety is at risk.
- (a) at any time on or after 1 October 2001, the person:
- ARAP 3.6. A person meets the eligibility requirement if conditions 1 and 2 and one or both of conditions 3 and 4 applies:
- (a) Condition 1 is that at any time on or after 1 October 2001, the person:
- (i) was directly employed in Afghanistan by a UK Government department; or
- (ii) provided goods or services in Afghanistan under contract to a UK Government department (whether as, or on behalf of, a party to the contract); or
- (iii)worked in Afghanistan alongside a UK Government department, in partnership with or closely supporting and assisting that department.
- (b) Condition 2 is that the person, in the course of the employment or work or the provision of those services under Condition 1, made a substantive and positive contribution towards the achievement of one or more of the following:
- (i) the UK Government’s military objectives with respect to Afghanistan; or
- (ii) the UK Government’s national security objectives with respect to Afghanistan (and for these purposes, the UK Government’s national security objectives include counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics and anti-corruption objectives).
- (c) Condition 3 is that because of the person’s employment or work or those services under Condition 1, the person:
- (i) is or was at an elevated risk of targeted attacks; and
- (ii) is or was at high risk of death or serious injury.
- (d) Condition 4 is that the person holds information, the disclosure of which would give rise to or aggravate a specific threat to a UK Government department or its interests.
- (a) Condition 1 is that at any time on or after 1 October 2001, the person:
- ARAP 3.7. A person does not meet the ARAP eligibility requirements, if either of the following apply:
- (a) the Ministry of Defence has withdrawn its eligibility decision; or
- (b) the person was directly employed by, or contracted to, a UK Government department or unit and was dismissed from their job (except in circumstances where the Secretary of State considers that the person was dismissed for a minor reason).
ARAP 4.1. If the Ministry of Defence decision maker is satisfied the ARAP eligibility requirements are met, the Ministry of Defence will make an application for entry clearance or settlement on behalf of the applicant (otherwise the application to the Ministry of Defence will be refused).
ARAP 5.1. A person seeking to come to the UK as an eligible Afghan citizen must have obtained entry clearance under the ARAP before they arrive in the UK.
ARAP 5.2. A person in the UK, applying for settlement as an eligible Afghan citizen must be in the UK on the date of application.
ARAP 5.3. A person applying for entry clearance as an eligible Afghan citizen must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.
ARAP 6.1. If the Home Office decision maker is satisfied that the eligibility and suitability requirements for entry clearance or settlement for an eligible Afghan citizen are met, the application will be granted, otherwise the application will be refused.
ARAP 6.2. An application for entry clearance or settlement as an eligible Afghan citizen will only be considered under this Appendix and will not be considered as an application for entry clearance, permission to stay or settlement on any other basis, including an application for leave outside of the Rules.
ARAP 7.1. Where the applicant is outside the UK and the requirements for entry clearance are met, they will be granted entry clearance which will have effect on arrival in the UK as indefinite permission to enter (settlement).
ARAP 7.2. Where the applicant is in the UK and the requirements for settlement are met, they will be granted indefinite permission to stay (settlement).
- ARAP 8.1. An application for entry clearance or settlement as the family member of an eligible Afghan citizen must meet the following validity requirements:
- (a) the Ministry of Defence must have decided that the applicant meets the relevant ARAP eligibility requirements in ARAP 10.1 to ARAP 13.4 (the ARAP dependent eligibility decision); and
- (b) an application must have been made by the Ministry of Defence on the applicant’s behalf for entry clearance or settlement no more than 12 months after an eligibility decision; and
- (c) the applicant must have provided any required biometrics; and
- (d) the applicant must have provided a passport or other evidence which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality; and
- (e) the applicant must be a partner, child or eligible family member of a person who has been granted entry clearance or settlement as an eligible Afghan citizen, or of a person who is applying as an eligible Afghan citizen or their partner at the same time as the applicant.
ARAP 8.2. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for ARAP is invalid may be rejected as invalid and not considered.
ARAP 9.1. The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part 9: Grounds for Refusal of these Rules.
ARAP 10.1. To be eligible as a family member of an eligible Afghan citizen the family member must have been included in the Afghan citizen’s eligibility application to the Ministry of Defence.
ARAP 10.2. To be eligible as a family member of an eligible Afghan citizen, the Ministry of Defence must have decided the relevant eligibility requirements under ARAP 11.1 to ARAP 13.4 are met.
ARAP 11.1. A person applying as a dependent partner of an eligible Afghan citizen must meet the requirements set out in Appendix Relationship with Partner.
ARAP 11.2. The applicant must be the dependent partner of an eligible Afghan citizen who the Ministry of Defence has decided is eligible for relocation to the UK under the ARAP.
ARAP 11.3. The applicant must have been the dependent partner of a person (P) on the date when the Ministry of Defence decided that P was an eligible Afghan citizen under the ARAP.
ARAP 11.4. If the relevant Afghan citizen has more than one partner, only one partner can apply for entry clearance or settlement in the UK under these Rules.
ARAP 12.1. The applicant must be under 18 on the date of application.
ARAP 12.2. The applicant must be the dependent child of an eligible Afghan citizen or their partner.
ARAP 12.3. The applicant must not be living an independent life.
- ARAP 12.4. The applicant must be applying at the same time as both of their parents are applying under ARAP unless:
- (a) the parent applying is the sole surviving parent; or
- (b) the parent applying has sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing; or
- (c) one parent is a British citizen or a person who has a right to enter or stay in the UK without restriction; and is or will be ordinarily resident in the UK; or
- (d) the decision maker is satisfied that there are serious and compelling reasons to grant the application.
ARAP 13.1. The applicant must be an additional family member of an eligible Afghan citizen or their partner.
ARAP 13.2. The additional family member cannot be an additional partner where one partner has applied for entry clearance or settlement under these Rules.
- ARAP 13.3. The additional family member must meet at least one of the following requirements:
- (a) as a result of the eligible Afghan citizen’s work for or with a UK Government department, the applicant must be at an elevated risk of targeted attacks, specific threats or intimidation; putting them at a high risk of death or serious injury; or
- (b) the applicant must face specific vulnerabilities which have led to an exceptional level of family dependence, and would be unable, even with the practical and financial help of the eligible Afghan citizen or their partner, to obtain the required level of care or protection outside the UK either because it is not available, and there is no other person who can reasonably provide it, or because it is not affordable.
- ARAP 13.4. Where the additional family member is a child:
- (a) the eligible Afghan citizen or their partner must be a legal guardian of the child; or
- (b) one parent is a British citizen or a person who has a right to enter or stay in the UK without restriction; and is or will be ordinarily resident in the UK; or
- (c) the decision maker is satisfied that there are serious and compelling reasons to grant the applicant with the eligible Afghan citizen or their partner.
ARAP 14.1. If the Ministry of Defence decision maker is satisfied all the relevant eligibility requirements for a dependant of an eligible Afghan citizen are met, the Ministry of Defence will submit an application for entry clearance or settlement on the applicant’s behalf.
ARAP 15.1. A person seeking to come to the UK as the family member of an eligible Afghan citizen under the ARAP must have obtained entry clearance before they arrive in the UK.
ARAP 15.2. A person in the UK, applying for settlement as the family member of an eligible Afghan citizen, must be in the UK on the date of application.
ARAP 15.3. A person applying for entry clearance as the family member of an eligible Afghan citizen must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.
ARAP 16.1. If the Home Office decision maker is satisfied that all the suitability and eligibility requirements for a family member of an eligible Afghan citizen under the ARAP are met, the application will be granted, otherwise the application will be refused.
ARAP16.2. An application for entry clearance or settlement under ARAP will only be considered under this Appendix and will not be considered as an application for entry clearance, permission to stay or settlement on any other basis, including an application for leave outside the Rules.
ARAP 17.1. Where the requirements for entry clearance as the family member of an eligible Afghan citizen are met, they will be granted entry clearance, which will have effect on arrival in the UK as indefinite permission to enter (settlement).
ARAP 17.2. Where the requirements for settlement as the family member of an eligible Afghan citizen are met, they will be granted indefinite permission to stay (settlement).