Afghanistan: Refugees
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, why (a) notice or (b) a transition period was given for the closure of the ARAP scheme.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) Scheme was not created to be an open-ended scheme, and as such had strict eligibility criteria for applicants to meet before they would be offered relocation.
In statements made by the Ministry of Defence in December 2024 and May 2025, intent for scheme closure was reiterated. In the Written Ministerial Statement on 1 July 2025, we explained that throughout the previous year, we have regularly assessed progress, and carefully considered the right time to stop taking on new applications. As explained in that statement, we considered that we had reached the right point. Given the wider context, it was not considered necessary to provide for any transitional period.
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