Afghan pilot pleads for his family to be granted asylum

Charities say 11,000 people stuck in ‘broken’ reunion system

- HOLLY BANCROFT

An Afghan pilot who helped Britain in its war against the Taliban is begging for his wife to be allowed to join him in the UK. As he makes his appeal, charities are calling for the Home Office’s “broken” family reunion system to be fixed.

The air force lieutenant, who was granted asylum in the UK after a five-month-long campaign by The Independent, is waiting for his young family, including his wife, who are currently in Iran. He is worried that they will be forced to return to Afghanistan as their visas have run out in Iran.

His story is one of thousands, it has emerged, with figures from summer 2023 showing that more than 11,000 people were then waiting to be reunited with family members in the UK. The Home Office has repeatedly refused to provide an updated figure for the visa backlog through freedom of information laws.

Charities Refugee Council and Safe Passage have called on the government to “fix and expand the UK’s broken family reunion system” in a new report, which draws on the many cases of separated refugee families that they are supporting.

The Afghan pilot said of his wife and daughter: “They have been waiting for a visa for five months in Iran, but so far there is no news from the embassy and there is no guarantee it will be issued. My family are facing a lot of problems. They don’t have a proper place to live, and don’t have access to a doctor, because they are living illegally. Their Iranian visas have expired and they need to extend them, but it is impossible.