The worsening situation in Afghanistan may have caused the return of British troops to Helmand but the Government apparently does not deem the conflict serious enough to accept the majority of refugees fleeing the country to seek safety in the UK.

While almost 90 per cent of Syrian asylum seekers and three quarters of Eritreans have their applications granted, the figure for Afghans stands at little over a third.

Debora Singer, from UK charity Asylum Aid, said there was a “culture of disbelief” at the Home Office that leaves vulnerable refugees struggling to prove their right to protection.

“The UK grant rate (for applications) on average is 41 per cent but the average for Afghans is much lower,” she told the Independent.

“That gap often demonstrates the level of risk perceived by the Home Office."

An Afghan flag flies above makeshift shelters at a site dubbed the 'new jungle', where migrants trying to cross the Channel to reach Britain have camped out around the northern French port of Calais, on July 29, 2015 (AFP/Getty Images)

Ms Singer, who is the charity’s policy and research manager, said a disproportionately high number of Afghan refusals are overturned on appeal – more than a third.

“The issue we’re most concerned about is asylum seekers facing a culture of disbelief,” she added.

“What we would like the Home Office to establish is a culture of protection.

“When you see the way victims of sexual violence are treated by police, there’s a lot more talk about starting to believe the victim as a basis for the investigation but there hasn’t been our experience with the Home Office looking at asylum claims.”

Asylum Aid, which provides free legal representation and advice for refugees in the UK, said it is handling many cases involving teenagers, children, victims of sexual violence and torture.

Refugees disembark from a dinghy after their arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015 (AP)

While much of the international focus on the ongoing crisis has been on Syrian refugees, they make up under a half of the one million migrants and asylum seekers who have arrived on Europe’s shores this year.

The next largest group is Afghans, who make up 21 per cent of arrivals coming over the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea according to United Nations (UN) statistics.

Their treatment varies wildly through Europe, with Macedonia and other eastern European nations on the long Western Balkan route grouping Afghans with Iraqis and Syrians as the only three nationalities they will allow to pass through, while other nations accept just three in 100 Afghans as refugees.

Laura Padoan, from the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR), told the Independent that the number of refugees from Afghanistan arriving on European shores had been rising rapidly over recent months and appeared to be linked to the renewal of the Taliban’s bloody insurgency.

“It may take some time to see the effect that has on the numbers in Europe,” she said. “The UK will take some time to have a major impact as refugees journey across the continent.”

Lord Dannatt 'We did not fail in Afghanistan'

Sweden has so far been the main destination for Afghan asylum seekers, taking three times as many refugee applications in October compared to the month before.

Most of those arriving are men but more than a third entering the EU are unaccompanied children and teenagers.

Italy grants 97 per cent of asylum applications from Afghan refugees, while the figure in Hungary is just three per cent, Ms Padoan said.

“The average across Europe is low, under 60 per cent,” she added. “Perhaps that is what makes some asylum seekers feel they don’t stand a chance.”

Ms Padoan said the UNHCR believes all applications should be considered on individual merit but that the Government should also consider the changing security situation on the ground.

A minority of Afghans are among asylum seekers who have been caught pretending to be Syrian in the belief it will secure them better treatment in Europe and the right to stay.

The Independent met Iraqi and Afghan migrants arriving in Lesbos who said they knew people attempting the deception and a Syrian refugee told Sky News the practice was being continued by some fellow asylum seekers he met at a hostel in Croydon.

Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily.

Another man admitted changing his stated nationality depending where he was on his journey to the UK, saying: “In Greece, I say I am from Syria.”

Pledges by the UK and other nations to take refugees specifically from Syria sparked accusations that governments are driving even migrants with legitimate claims to lie about their nationality.

To be recognised as a refugee by the British government, an applicant must be able to prove they are unable to live safely in their home country because of conflict or persecution.

The application process includes language tests, background checks and extensive interviews by specialists.

A spokesperson for the Home Office told the Independent: “The United Kingdom has a long and proud history of offering sanctuary to those who genuinely need our protection.

“All claims for asylum are considered on their individual merits, and where people establish a genuine need for protection from persecution, refuge will be granted.”

The Ministry of Defence said British troops have been sent back to Helmand to play an “advisory role” to Afghan forces desperately trying to stop the Taliban’s renewed advance.