Recognising the situation in Afghanistan, concessions have been made to UK Immigration rules for Afghan nationals and their dependants who entered the UK before 21 September 2021 or had made an application for entry clearance before that date and subsequently arrived in the UK. The concessions apply to decisions made after 14 January 2022.
There are two types of concessions: 1) Switching and 2) Document flexibility
Eligibility
To be eligible to be considered under either of the concessions, you must:
- be an Afghan national, or their dependant partner or child,
- be in the UK lawfully,
- have entered the UK before 1 September 2021,
- be applying for permission to stay on work or study route and meet the requirements of the immigration rules, subject to concessions.
- Switching concession
This concession allows Afghan nationals already in the UK to switch into an immigration route which is usually not permitted by Immigration rules. This concession recognises that the situation in Afghanistan may mean that some Afghan nationals may be in the UK and eligible for other immigration routes but may face challenges if they are required to return to Afghanistan in order to make an out of country application for entry clearance as would normally be required. This concession is intended to facilitate those who have come for a visit or on a temporary route but who meet the requirements of the work and study routes to continue their stay in the UK, including on routes to settlement where those requirements are met and where UKVI are satisfied that it would not be appropriate to require them to return to Afghanistan.
The requirement is that you must confirm in writing that you wish to be considered under this concession and explain your reasons for applying in-country.
2. Document flexibility concession
Due to the current situation in Afghanistan, you may be unable to provide all documents required by the Immigration Rules to support your application under the route under which you are applying. If this is the case, you can apply without the required document. However, you must provide a reasonable explanation why you cannot provide a required document when making your application.
A sufficient and reasonable explanation may be that it is impossible to obtain a document from an institution as it is not functioning or is not offering its full range of services due to current circumstances.
If the Home Office is satisfied with the reason provided, the requirements of the Immigration Rules for switching and or the requirement to provide documentation may be waived. All applications will be considered on a case by case basis, taking into account all of the circumstances.