KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Britain has halted the transfer process of its former collaborators from inside Afghanistan, but the resettlement program for applicants from third countries is still continuing.
The UK Defence Journal reported on Monday (May 18) that the resettlement program for former collaborators of the British military and institutions in Afghanistan is scheduled to be fully completed by December 2028.
The publication, citing Britain’s Minister for Defence Procurement, Luke Pollard, stated that the in-country resettlement scheme has been closed, and eligible individuals wishing to leave Afghanistan are now required to independently travel to a third country.
He added that they have a maximum of 12 months, until the end of April 2027, to reach one of Britain’s visa-issuing authorities.
Once individuals reach a safe third country, Pollard said, “we maintain provision of our current support until 2028.”
It is still unclear how many applicants remain inside Afghanistan, but Pollard says the British government estimates that a total of 9,000 people inside Afghanistan and neighboring countries are still waiting for transfer to Britain.
The number of asylum cases of Afghan applicants in Britain has decreased from around 25,000 to fewer than 17,000.
Britain stopped accepting new applications in July 2025, and previous applications, including those of individuals staying in camps, are still under review.
The British government, which had housed its local Afghan collaborators in military camps over the past four years, has now shut down this program, and they are being kept only in designated hotels until the fate of their applications—acceptance or rejection—is determined.
Three weeks earlier, the UK Ministry of Defence had announced that it would end direct support for relocating former Afghan employees from inside Afghanistan. In a letter to Parliament, Luke Pollard said eligible applicants would be required to travel independently to a third country to obtain a UK visa, where they would continue receiving British support until 2028. He also said applicants must present themselves at a UK visa application center within 12 months.
After the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the UK relocated thousands of its former local staff, but the prolonged accommodation of these individuals in temporary housing has drawn criticism.
However, the applications of thousands of the country’s former collaborators in Afghanistan have still not been processed or finalized, and they remain waiting.
In a broader shift in UK policy toward Afghan migration, the United Kingdom had earlier announced plans to suspend the issuance of student and skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals, citing concerns over what it described as the “misuse” of legal visa routes to seek asylum.
According to the Home Office, this decision also included suspending student visas for nationals of Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan. The ministry reported a sharp rise in asylum applications from these groups, noting that claims from Afghan students alone reached 95 percent of the number of visas issued between 2021 and late 2025, while overall applications from the four countries increased by more than 470 percent.
Furthermore, the Home Office emphasized that asylum claims from individuals entering through legal pathways have more than tripled since 2021, placing significant pressure on the UK’s asylum system.
It also highlighted that the number of Afghan nationals entering on work visas and later applying for asylum now exceeds the number of such visas granted.
As a result, in what it described as an unprecedented measure, the UK decided to suspend sponsored student visas for all four countries and skilled worker visas specifically for Afghan nationals, framing the move as necessary to manage rising migration pressures.
These developments come as concerns grow among Afghan applicants about delays, uncertainty, and the increasing responsibility placed on them to manage their own relocation process, particularly amid ongoing security and financial challenges.
