The Home Office has rejected the visa application of a family trapped in Afghanistan whose son fled to the UK when Kabul fell.
Ahmad (not his real name) was brought to the UK aged 10 with his aunt and uncle during Operation Pitting in 2021, when around 15,000 British nationals and eligible Afghans were evacuated from Afghanistan during a Taliban attack.
Ahmad's family, who are in hiding in Afghanistan, applied for a family reunion visa to be reunited with their son in the UK in February 2023. The Home Office rejected the application in June this year, saying it did not violate the right to a family life and that Ahmad, now 13, was not a valid sponsor as he arrived in the UK through the Afghan National Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
In a letter to Ahmad's father, seen by the Guardian, the Home Office said: “We have been unable to demonstrate any special relationship of dependency between you and your sponsor. [Ahmad] … I am therefore convinced that this refusal does not violate your right to a family life.”
The Interior Ministry also said Ahmad's family was not considered to be at “exceptional” risk in Afghanistan, despite the fact that his father had told the ministry he worked for a company with links to Western efforts in Afghanistan.
The letter said it “gives little weight” to the claim that the family was “severely restricted by the Taliban regime” because they were able to obtain identity documents after the Taliban took power.
Speaking to the Guardian through an interpreter, Ahmad's father, who did not want to be identified, said: “My life is at risk because I was working with foreign forces. We are very upset by the Interior Ministry's decision. We felt that the country had a right to allow us to be reunited with our child.”
“Over the last three years, we have lost a member of our family and his place in our lives has been empty – our son.”
Since arriving in the UK, Ahmad has been living with his paternal aunt and uncle and has started school there. His aunt said the boy had a “very close” relationship with his family and was shocked by the Home Office's refusal.
“He's still a kid,” she said. “We all know kids need their parents, especially kids this age.”
Ahmad and his family are being represented by lawyers from refugee aid organisations Safe Passage International and Refugee Legal Support, a non-profit organisation run by Afghanistan's government. They have appealed the Interior Ministry's refusal and are awaiting a hearing date.
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Ahmad's lawyer, Helena Cullen, said Ahmad was one of around 80 children who were separated from their families in the chaotic circumstances surrounding the evacuation in 2021. Cullen hopes the government's announcement of a new family visa route in July will bring new hope to Ahmad's family and others.
“This family was tragically separated in the chaos of Operation Pitting and has been fighting to be reunited for the past three years, battling numerous obstacles just to submit a family reunification application,” Cullen said.
Dr Wanda Wypolska, CEO of Safe Passage International, echoed calls for family reunification applications to be accepted.
“We have spoken to legal and safeguarding experts and we understand the boy is depressed, his mental health has deteriorated and he is struggling at school. He has not seen his family for three years. He has night terrors about the separation and is worried for his family's safety,” she said.
“All applications are considered carefully on their individual merits and in accordance with immigration rules,” the Home Office said. It said it had a long-standing policy not to comment on individual cases.
