A welcome to make us proud: Relief as 10,000 Afghan heroes who risked their lives helping UK troops are given permission to live here indefinitely
- Home Office said the status would be granted immediately to 10,000 refugees
- Johnson said decision reflected 'immense debt' owed to those who helped UK
- Policy has been codenamed Operation Warm Welcome and will be indefinite
Thousands of Afghans who risked their lives to help British forces will be allowed to live and work indefinitely in the UK.
The Home Office last night said the coveted status would be granted immediately – and automatically – to around 10,000 refugees.
It will allow them to work and enrol their children in school as they try to build a new life here.
The decision fast-tracks a process that can take years and with only a limited right to remain.
Boris Johnson said the policy reflected the ‘immense debt’ owed to translators and others who had helped the UK military during the 20-year engagement.
Thousands of Afghans who risked their lives to help British forces will be allowed to live and work indefinitely in the UK. Pictured: Afghan refugees arrive at Heathrow Airport, London
The Home Office said the coveted status would be granted immediately – and automatically – to around 10,000 refugees. Pictured: Afghan refugees arriving into Heathrow last week
A Whitehall source said that the package, codenamed Operation Warm Welcome, was ‘the least we could do’ following the chaotic and bloody withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Ministers are still however under pressure to do more to help hundreds, and possibly thousands, of Afghans now in hiding from Taliban reprisals for helping British troops.
Its leaders have claimed they will not seek revenge but militants yesterday raided the homes of former translators in Kabul.
Former interpreters told the Mail they were living in fear for their lives after failing to secure a place among the 10,000 flown to Britain.
A 35-year-old who has qualified for relocation to the UK said: ‘No one believes the Taliban’s words of forgiveness. We helped the British kill and capture their men.
‘We provided the intelligence to fight against them. We questioned their captured and injured – so it is simple that they will want revenge.’
Refugees from Afghanistan arrive on a evacuation flight at Heathrow Airport on August 26
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday denied reports that more than 7,000 Afghans with links to UK forces had been left behind, but was unable to provide another figure.
He said the number of British citizens left in Afghanistan was in ‘the low hundreds’, following the evacuation of more than 15,000 people in the second half of August.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said around 300 Afghans granted refuge in the UK had been left behind, along with 700 relatives.
Normally, asylum seekers are banned from working while their claims are assessed. They are entitled to minimal financial support if they would ‘otherwise be destitute’.
Permission to work may be granted only if their claim has not been processed within a year through no fault of their own.
If they are eventually granted leave to remain it is typically capped at five years.
Dominic Raab (pictured with Borish Johnson) denied reports that more than 7,000 Afghans with links to UK forces had been left behind but was unable to provide another figure
By contrast, those who have served British forces will immediately be granted indefinite leave to remain, which brings with it the right to work and the option to apply for British citizenship.
Those eligible under the Afghanistan Relocations and Assistance Policy will also be eligible for immediate access to NHS services.
Councils have been offered a modest £5million to help with housing. Officials said they were working with more than 100 town halls and had so far found accommodation for more than 2,000 people.
Councils will be given an extra £12million to provide additional school places for Afghan children and further funding will be provided to create 300 university places.
Arrivals from Afghanistan will also be offered the Covid vaccine and given access to a portal where members of the public will be able to share offers of work and housing and make donations.
A Whitehall source last night told the Mail the package was ‘likely’ to be extended to 20,000 Afghans expected to come under a wider resettlement scheme – but this has not been decided.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5kYWlseW1haWwuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlLTk5NDUyMDEvQWZnaGFuLWhlcm9lcy1yaXNrZWQtbGl2ZXMtaGVscGluZy1VSy10cm9vcHMtZ2l2ZW4tcGVybWlzc2lvbi1saXZlLWluZGVmaW5pdGVseS5odG1s0gGJAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtOTk0NTIwMS9hbXAvQWZnaGFuLWhlcm9lcy1yaXNrZWQtbGl2ZXMtaGVscGluZy1VSy10cm9vcHMtZ2l2ZW4tcGVybWlzc2lvbi1saXZlLWluZGVmaW5pdGVseS5odG1s?oc=5
2021-08-31 23:00:06Z
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