The refugee family reunion route has been temporarily suspended due to concerns that criminal gangs are exploiting it to encourage dangerous Channel crossings. New immigration rules will be introduced next year; meanwhile refugees with accepted asylum claims must apply under the standard family scheme, which requires a joint income threshold of £29,000 for partners. Visa grants for refugees' family members rose fivefold to 20,600 in the year to March, up from 4,300 in 2023. The decision follows public pressure over asylum accommodation protests. Critics warn the suspension will push desperate people toward smugglers and remove a safe, legal route.
The home secretary said the refugee family reunion route was at risk of exploitation and she would temporarily suspend new applications until tougher rules were introduced next year. People who have had their asylum claim accepted will instead have to apply through the standard family scheme, which applies to UK citizens who have to show that they have a joint income of at least 29,000 a year before they are allowed to bring a partner to the UK.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: Until now, family reunion has been one of the only safe and legal routes available that allows refugees fleeing war and persecution to be reunited with their partner and children. Far from stopping people taking dangerous journeys to cross the Channel, these changes will only push more desperate people into the arms of smugglers.
We need to address the immediate pressures on local authorities and the risks from criminal gangs using family reunion as a pull factor to encourage more people on to boats, she told MPs. Therefore we are bringing forward new immigration rules this week to temporarily suspend new applications under the existing dedicated refugee family reunion route. Until the new framework is introduced, refugees will be covered by the same family migration rules and conditions as everyone else.
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