UK govt confirms accelerated plan to relocate Afghan translators

The UK government officially announced Tuesday that local staff who worked for the UK government in Afghanistan, including translators, will be eligible for expedited relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP).

“Local staff who worked for the UK Government in Afghanistan, including many who worked as interpreters for UK forces in the country, will be eligible for expedited relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP),” the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel announced Tuesday in a statement.

Wallace said: “We owe a debt of gratitude to our interpreters and other locally employed staff who risked their lives working alongside UK forces in Afghanistan.

“We have always made clear that nobody’s life should be put at risk because they supported the UK Government to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“As we withdraw our Armed Forces, it is only right we accelerate the relocation of those who may be at risk of reprisals.

“The Home Secretary and I are going to do everything to make sure we recognise their services and bring them to safety. It is the right thing to do,” he said.

The ARAP scheme came into effect on 1 April 2021 and offers the relocation of current and former local staff in Afghanistan, including interpreters and their immediate families.

Wallace said this new scheme acknowledges and reflects that the situation in Afghanistan has changed, and with it the potential risk to the local staff who have worked for the UK Government over the past twenty years.

Patel in turn said: “I’m proud to say that the UK is fulfilling its promise to those Afghan interpreters and other locally employed staff who have worked tirelessly alongside our Armed Forces.

“It is our moral obligation to recognise the risks they have faced in the fight against terrorism and reward their efforts. I’m pleased that we are meeting this fully, by providing them and their families the opportunity to build a new life in this country.

“A new intimidation scheme administered by a specialist team based in Kabul has been set up to administer the ARAP and support local staff who are threatened as a result of their work with the UK.

According to her, under the new policy, any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life are offered priority relocation to the UK regardless of their employment status, rank or role, or length of time served.

She also said the Ministry of Defense will work with a range of UK government partners, including the Home Office to successfully relocate those who meet the eligibility requirements and support them to integrate and build a new life in the UK.

“By accelerating the ARAP for those staff still in Afghanistan, the government is meeting its moral obligation to ensure their continued safety, she said.

The UK government has already supported the relocation of more than 1,360 former Afghan staff and their families, enabling them to create new lives in the UK.

No confirmed figures were released by the UK government Tuesday but earlier reports indicated about 3,000 people, including family members, could be resettled in the UK.