The UK’s Afghan Resettlement schemes came to a shuddering closure on 1 July 2025. Although pending applications will continue to be considered, this abrupt closure otherwise ends access to one of the very few existing ‘safe and legal routes’’.
The closure was announced without forewarning or consultation, and with little explanation provided for failing to do either. As many have said, this marks a “…concerning abandonment of the UK’s commitments to the people of Afghanistan”.
In response to the announcement, RLS worked closely with ILPA alongside many others in the sector to express our grave concerns. Together, we urged that we must ensure those in need can still access the schemes.
Hard on the heels of this announcement, on 15 July 2025 the UK government announced that there had been a major data breach relating to applications made on or before 7 January 2022 to the UK’s Afghan Resettlement and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and its forerunner, the Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS).
We are informed the data breach actually happened some time ago, back in 2022, with the UK Government only becoming aware late in 2023. This means that for around 2 years the details of this breach and its existence have remained secret via an unprecedented super-injunction preventing all, including those impacted – from being made aware.
Meanwhile, the Defence Secretary revealed that throughout this time the Ministry of Defence had operated another secret resettlement scheme for a small number of those impacted by the data-breach (the so-called Afghanistan Response Route (ARR)).
The secrecy surrounding these events, and the UK Government’s response continues to raise serious concerns along with profound questions about Government transparency, accountability and the rule of law. Indeed, many commentators have unsurprisingly referred to these events simply as a ‘cover-up’.
At RLS, we will continue to work to provide vital legal casework support for the Afghan community as they navigate access to the Schemes, challenging unfairness and delays. For those impacted by the breach we have compiled a detailed information sheet with practical guidance and resources. It’s available in Pashto, Dari and English.. We’ll continue to add to these resources to empower the many thousands of people impacted and unlikely to be able to obtain access to legal representation.
These appalling events occur against a continuing backdrop of poor quality decision-making and chronic delays within ARAP and ACRS.
These are schemes, we shouldn’t forget, set up for Afghans placed at immediate and acute risk from the Taliban because of work they did with or alongside the UK in Afghanistan, along with their families. Even modest delays should be of significant concern.
In the context of the ARAP Scheme many have waited over a year for a final Decision on their application, forced to remain in hiding throughout. They have lived for far too long in constant fear and extraordinarily precarious circumstances. Even before these announcements they describe being exhausted, confused, and ground down by the heavy burden of living in fear for so long. We’re hearing repeatedly that knowledge of this data-breach has now only exacerbated this fear and uncertainty.
We’ll continue to work hard through our specialist legal casework to urge greater transparency and accountability, and challenge unfairness, including prolonged delays. It remains essential to ensure that those who require the protection of these schemes can continue to access them.
