UK tightens visa rules for Afghan asylum seekers

The United Kingdom government has been criticized for narrowing rules for people from Afghanistan seeking to relocate to the country, despite promises from the prime minister that they would be welcomed following the UK's chaotic exit from Kabul in August.

Changes to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy, known as ARAP, mean staff employed in Afghanistan by a UK government department after Oct 1, 2001 must now have a "high and imminent risk" of threat to their life to be able to come to the UK, reported The Guardian.

Previous rules stated these people only needed to show there was an "imminent" risk, and critics say many people who supported the UK military in Afghanistan will now be excluded.

A government spokesperson said it is updating the ARAP rules to "make clear who is eligible to apply under the scheme" and to "enable more families to remain together, and offer support to those who need it most". The government has promised to give up to 20,000 Afghan people at risk a new life in the UK.

After the evacuation from Kabul in August, Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched a program known as Operation Warm Welcome, which sought to guarantee safety of those fleeing from the Taliban and in fear for their lives.

At the time, Johnson said: "I am determined that we welcome them with open arms and that my government puts in place the support they need to rebuild their lives. We will never forget the brave sacrifice made by Afghans who chose to work with us, at great risk to themselves."

However, pressure groups highlight that the government is still yet to open its Afghan citizens resettlement program.

Quoted by The Guardian, Minnie Rahman, the interim chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, criticized the government's new immigration and borders bill, which activists have said will criminalize Afghan refugees who seek safety in the UK.

"People can stay in Afghanistan and risk death, or make their own perilous journeys here and face prison, detention or removal under this government's new borders bill," she said.

Meanwhile, the Home Office has stated that any Afghans who arrive in the UK will not be among migrants taken to a new processing center.

In a statement, the office said the Ministry of Defence base in Manston, Kent, will partly be used as a "processing site for illegal migrants by January 2022".

It will be able to "hold migrants for up to five days as security and identity checks are completed".

Last week, a cross-party group of parliamentarians published a report accusing the government of inflicting "profound harm" on people being housed at a former army accommodation in Kent. It said the site is one of a number being used to house people seeking asylum in the UK.