LONDON: The visa of an Afghan family hoping to be reunited with their 13-year-old son in the UK has been rejected by the Home Office.
In 2021, Ahmad, then aged 10, was brought to the UK during the evacuation from Afghanistan as the Taliban retook the country, The Guardian reported.
About 15,000 British nationals and eligible Afghans were transported from the country.
But Ahmad’s family remain in Afghanistan, and the 13-year-old’s father says his life is at risk over his past work for a company linked to the Western presence in the country.
Last year, they applied for a UK family reunion visa, which the Home Office rejected in June this year.
A letter sent to Ahmad’s father, seen by The Guardian, claims that the rejection would not breach the right to a family life.
“You have failed to show any exceptional dependency between you and your sponsor (Ahmad) … As such I am satisfied that this refusal has not breached your right to a family life,” the Home Office letter said.
It also claimed that the family were not at “exceptional” risk in Afghanistan, based on Ahmad’s father being able to obtain identity documents from Taliban government ministries.
Ahmad has been living with extended family since arriving in Britain and has started school.
His father told The Guardian: “My life is in danger because I worked with foreign forces … The decision from the Home Office made us very upset. We felt that we had the right this country would allow us to reunite with our child.
“It’s been for the past three years that we are missing one member of our family and his place is empty in our life, and that is our son.”
Now the family are being represented in a legal appeal by a pro bono initiative for Afghans.
The scheme is run by the refugee charities Safe Passage International and Refugee Legal Support.
Helena Cullen, Ahmad’s lawyer, said that the 13-year-old is one of about 80 children who were split from their family during Britain’s Afghanistan evacuation.
“This family was tragically separated during the chaos of Operation Pitting and have been fighting to reunite for the last three years, battling many hurdles just to get their family reunion application submitted,” she said.
A separated families visa route announced by the UK government in July may offer fresh hope for Ahmad’s family and others, she added.
Ahmad is reportedly depressed and suffering from deteriorating mental health, said Dr. Wanda Wyporska, CEO of Safe Passage International, citing the charity’s legal and safeguarding experts.
The boy’s aunt, whom he lives with in the UK, said that she was shocked by the Home Office’s decision.
“We all know that children need their parents, especially when they are this age.”
The Home Office said in a statement on the case: “All applications are carefully considered on their individual merits and in line with the immigration rules.”
