Family of boy evacuated from Kabul are denied UK reunion visa

The Home Office has rejected a visa application from a family trapped in Afghanistan whose son was evacuated to the UK during the fall of Kabul.

- Neha Gohil

Ahmad (not his real name) was brought to the UK at the age of 10 with his uncle and aunt during Operation Pitting in 2021, when about 15,000 British nationals and eligible Afghans were evacuated from Afghanistan during a Taliban offensive.

Ahmad's family, who are in hiding in Afghanistan, submitted family reunion visa applications to be reunited with their son in the UK in February 2023.

The Home Office refused the application in June this year, saying this was not in breach of their right to a family life and that Ahmad, now 13, was not a valid sponsor as he had arrived in the UK through the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.