The UK Home Office has abandoned a policy that required interpreters who worked for British forces in Afghanistan to have housing in the UK before they could be granted visas. The policy had stranded about 2,000 refugees in third countries.
According to The Times newspaper, The policy was challenged in the High Court by three former interpreters with children, who are currently living in hotels in Pakistan and Iran. The court was due to hear the case on Wednesday, but the government’s legal advice suggested that it would lose.
In response, the Home Office ordered officials to process visas for the group immediately. It is not clear exactly how soon they will be able to travel to the UK.
The policy had been introduced in December 2021, after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. The Home Office said that the policy was necessary to ensure that interpreters had a safe place to live when they arrived in the UK.
However, critics argued that the policy was unfair and unrealistic. They pointed out that it was difficult for interpreters to find housing in the UK, especially in the current climate.
Earlier this month, a group of prominent current and former British military and political figures, including the former heads of the British army, wrote to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, accusing his government of forgetting the refugees stranded in third countries.
The signatories demanded that Rishi Sunak establish a central focus to help the applicants, either independently or within the Cabinet Office.
The UK government repeatedly criticised for its handling of the cases of at-risk people from Afghanistan.
