Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces members given path to UK resettlement
Hundreds of former members of the Afghan special forces have been given a path to resettlement in the UK after a government review of previously rejected cases.
Ministers announced that 884 decisions, affecting ex-soldiers from two elite units known as the Triples, had been overturned.
They will be eligible to stay in Britain under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (Arap), subject to visa checks.
The Arap scheme was set up in April 2021 to help people who feared their lives were at risk because they had worked with the UK Armed Forces before the Taliban takeover later in the year.
However, in February 2024, the then-Conservative government conceded some Arap decisions were "not robust" and promised to re-examine 2,000 cases, including troops who served in Triples units Commando Force 333 (CF333) and Afghan Territorial Force (ATF444).
Approximately 3,100 Triples applications had been assessed as part of the review, officials said.
Parliament had previously been told there was no evidence of direct employment, which had been used as the basis for rejecting applications under the Arap scheme.
Last October, then-Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard told the House of Commons that officials had found details that showed payments from the British government to Afghan troops.
Mr Pollard said the length of time taken to review the cases had been a "source of deep regret and concern".
Announcing the overturned decisions on Thursday, Defence Procurement Minister Mr Pollard said: "The journey of improvement is, of course, a continuous one and [the] MOD will continue to build on the learning from this review.
"Although I cannot change what happened in the past, I am proud of the work that we have undertaken to conclude this review and deliver on our promise to support eligible Triples who contributed to the UK mission in Afghanistan."
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