Nearly 2,000 Afghan children living in hotels, military bases and other temporary accommodation in UK

Nearly 2,000 children of Afghan families brought to the UK because of their support of the British are living in hotels, military bases and other temporary accommodation, new data has revealed.

There are 3,880 people, brought to the UK under the Afghan Resettlement Programme, who are living in transitional accommodation while waiting for a more permanent home, government data released on Thursday showed.

The government has said that “around half” of these 3,880 were children as of the end of March 2025. The families are being housed in military bases around the UK, as well as hotels and other temporary accommodation.

The resettlement scheme is designed to help those Afghans who worked for or closely with British troops, or who supported British government objectives during the war - many of whom face persecution under the Taliban regime.

The number of people being brought to the UK under the Afghan schemes is on the rise. Data shows that there were 7,736 people resettled in the year ending March 2025, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year.

Military bases being used have included sites in Leicestershire, Wiltshire, South Wales, Inverness and Dorset. The Afghan families are living at the bases on a transitional basis before they are moved to homes on other barracks, council properties, or more permanent homes ring-fenced for those in the forces.

The MoD has run out of more permanent homes for these Afghan allies and some hotels have now been opened to house Afghan families while they wait.

The MoD and the Home Office are also liaising with local councils to find extra housing for them.

The number of Afghans living in this transitional accommodation in the UK has increased, with 3,035 people recorded as living in this temporary housing at the end of September 2024.

Data obtained by The Independent earlier this year showed that 1,015 service family accommodation homes were being used for Afghan allies as of 1 January 2025. These homes are available to families for up to three years.

The MoD is currently undertaking a review of some 2,000 resettlement applications from Afghans with credible links to two special forces units CF333 and ATF444, who served closely with UK special forces soldiers during the war in Afghanistan.

The review was prompted after failures were identified in how their applications for sanctuary were refused.