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Moving to the UK from Afghanistan: Guide

A guide for Afghan nationals moving to the UK, covering the Afghan Resettlement Programme, the closed ARAP and ACRS schemes, the visa routes that are barred, and the ones that remain.

Checked 1 March 20267 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team
Section
Moving to the UK From...
Reading time
7 min
Last checked
1 March 2026
Source
The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not
Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

  • The resettlement schemes (ARAP, ACRS and the Afghanistan Response Route) are closed to new applications and referrals.
  • Since 26 March 2026 the rules refuse a Skilled Worker or Student application made from outside the UK by an Afghan national.
  • A family visa is still open, and someone already in the UK can claim asylum.
  • A tuberculosis test is needed for a stay of more than 6 months. GOV.UK lists one approved clinic, in Kabul.
  • Resettlement grants settlement on arrival, but British citizenship still needs 5 years in the UK.

The UK ran three schemes for Afghan nationals after August 2021. All three are now closed to new applications and referrals, and are managed together as the Afghan Resettlement Programme while existing cases are worked through. Two ordinary visa routes are also closed to Afghan nationals applying from outside the UK: since 26 March 2026 the Immigration Rules refuse a Skilled Worker or a Student application from an Afghan national. This guide sets out what the published rules say is still open.

The Afghan Resettlement Programme

The Afghan Resettlement Programme is the single pipeline the UK now uses to bring together the three schemes it opened after 2021. It is not itself a route you apply to. All three of the schemes inside it are closed:

Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP)

ARAP relocated Afghan nationals who worked for or with the UK government in Afghanistan, including interpreters and other locally employed staff. The Ministry of Defence assesses eligibility. The scheme closed to new applications on 1 July 2025: Appendix ARAP of the Immigration Rules requires an application to have been submitted before 15:00 UK time on that date. Under ARAP 7.1 and 7.2, someone found eligible is granted indefinite permission to enter or stay, which is settlement. The same applies to eligible family members under ARAP 17.1 and 17.2.

Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)

The ACRS was set up to resettle more than 5,000 people in its first year and up to 20,000 over the following years, prioritising women and girls, religious and other minorities, and people who supported the UK or the international community. There was never a direct application: people were referred through one of three pathways. GOV.UK now states that no more referrals will be accepted. People already found eligible are still being resettled, and they receive settlement in the UK.

Afghanistan Response Route (ARR)

The Afghanistan Response Route was opened in April 2024 for people affected by a 2022 data incident. It closed on 4 July 2025. Cases already in the system continue to be processed.

Ordinary Visa Routes: What Is Closed and What Is Open

Two routes are closed to Afghan nationals applying from outside the UK. The bars started on 26 March 2026 and are written into the Immigration Rules as validity requirements, which means an application caught by them is not valid rather than merely likely to fail.

  • Skilled Worker visa: not available from outside the UK. Rule SW 3.3 reads: “A person must not be applying for entry clearance as a Skilled Worker as a national or citizen of Afghanistan.” Entry clearance is the application made from outside the UK. See the Skilled Worker visa guide for how the route works for people it is open to.
  • Student visa: not available from outside the UK. Rule ST 3.3 names Afghanistan alongside Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. See the student visa guide.
  • Family visa: open. If your spouse or partner is a British citizen or has settled status, the partner route is not affected by these bars. See the spouse visa guide. The minimum income requirement is £29,000 a year for a new application.
  • Asylum. A person who is in the UK can claim asylum. There is no visa to come to the UK in order to claim asylum. Someone granted refugee or humanitarian protection status pays no fee and no healthcare surcharge when they later apply for settlement, and is exempt from the Life in the UK test and the English requirement at that stage.

Afghanistan is on the UK's visa national list, so a visit of any length needs a Standard Visitor visa rather than an electronic travel authorisation. A 6-month visitor visa costs £135.

Document Requirements

  • Passport. An Afghan passport. A tazkira alone is not a travel document for a visa application, though the resettlement schemes handle documentation separately.
  • Tuberculosis test. Required if you are coming for 6 months or more and have lived in Afghanistan, or another listed country, for 6 months or more within the last 6 months. GOV.UK lists one approved clinic in Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Health Assessment Centre at Motahar Hospital in Kabul. Each clinic publishes its own fee, so this guide gives no price. A certificate is also needed by a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner on a family visa, and by a returning resident who has been away more than 2 years.
  • English language. A first partner visa needs level A1. Afghanistan is not on the Home Office list of majority English-speaking countries, so an approved secure English language test is needed. Resettlement and asylum routes carry no English requirement.
  • Police certificate. A criminal record certificate is required for some routes. Where a certificate cannot be obtained, the Home Office asks for a letter explaining what you tried; it does not publish a blanket waiver for Afghanistan.

Support After Arrival

People resettled through the Afghan Resettlement Programme are offered transitional accommodation for up to 9 months and help moving into settled housing. GOV.UK publishes the integration funding paid to local authorities for each person resettled: £24,110 over three years, starting with a £5,400 lump sum. The Home Office does not publish a count of Afghan nationals resident in the UK, so this guide gives none.

Path to Settlement and Citizenship

People relocated under ARAP or resettled under the ACRS hold settlement (indefinite leave to remain) from arrival. That removes the usual 5-year wait for settlement, but it does not shorten the wait for citizenship: GOV.UK says people resettled through the ACRS can apply for British citizenship after 5 years in the UK, subject to the standard requirements including the Life in the UK test and English at level B1. Naturalisation costs £1,709 to apply plus a £130 ceremony fee, £1,839 in total.

Someone on an ordinary visa route follows the normal 5-year path to settlement, which costs £3,226 for each person, and can then apply for citizenship 12 months after receiving it.

Next Steps

For official information, read the GOV.UK Afghan Resettlement Programme page and, if you have an existing case, the GOV.UK ARAP page. If you have a British or settled partner, see the spouse visa guide.

Questions and answers

What are the main routes for Afghan nationals to come to the UK?

The Afghan Resettlement Programme brings together the routes the UK ran after 2021, but all three are closed to new applications and referrals: the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy closed on 1 July 2025, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme stopped taking referrals on 1 July 2025, and the Afghanistan Response Route closed on 4 July 2025. Cases already in the system are still being processed. Among the ordinary visa routes, the Immigration Rules refuse a Skilled Worker or Student application made from outside the UK by an Afghan national. A family visa is still open, and a person who is already in the UK can claim asylum.

Can an Afghan national get a Skilled Worker or Student visa?

Not from outside the UK. Rule SW 3.3 of the Immigration Rules says a person must not be applying for entry clearance as a Skilled Worker as a national or citizen of Afghanistan, and rule ST 3.3 says the same for a Student application. Both bars started on 26 March 2026. They apply to entry clearance, which is the application you make from outside the UK.

Do Afghan nationals need a tuberculosis test for a UK visa?

You need one if you are coming to the UK for 6 months or more and you have lived in Afghanistan (or another listed country) for 6 months or more, and were living there within the last 6 months. GOV.UK lists one approved clinic, the Afghanistan Health Assessment Centre at Motahar Hospital in Kabul. The clinic sets and publishes its own fee, so check the GOV.UK clinic page before you go.

Is Afghanistan a majority English-speaking country?

No. Afghanistan is not on the Home Office list of majority English-speaking countries, so routes that carry an English requirement need an approved secure English language test. A first partner visa is A1. Resettlement and asylum routes carry no English requirement.

When can someone resettled from Afghanistan apply for British citizenship?

Resettlement under these schemes grants indefinite permission to enter or stay, which is settlement, on arrival. GOV.UK says people resettled through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme can apply for British citizenship after 5 years in the UK. Holding settlement on day one does not shorten that residence period.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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