The Refugee Council has reported that over 16,000 refugees have been unable to reunite with their families in the UK since the government suspended the refugee family reunion route in September 2024. This suspension has left many families stranded in conflict zones or forced to use people-smugglers to reach safety.
Suspension of family reunion route
The refugee family reunion route previously allowed individuals granted refugee status to apply to bring immediate family members—such as a spouse and children under 18—to join them in the UK. The government indicated the suspension would last until spring 2025, but no confirmation of its resumption has been made. Using Home Office data from before the suspension, the Refugee Council estimates that 16,300 people have been barred from applying, including 9,273 children and 5,835 women, with nine out of ten applicants being women and children.
Impact on vulnerable refugees
While the government operates other safe and legal routes for vulnerable refugees, arrivals via these routes have fallen by more than a third in the past year. New schemes, such as community sponsorship, have been announced but have brought only around 1,000 individuals to the UK over the last decade. Home Office sources noted that the new community sponsorship scheme, along with study and work routes, is expected to bring in refugees in the low hundreds initially.
An Iranian refugee living in London with her two children described the suspension as "agonising torture." Her husband remains trapped in Iran, and she believes the Home Office's slow processing of her asylum claim prevented her family from reuniting before the ban. "It is a clear and direct violation of human rights," she said. "It cruelly tears families apart and has stripped away our last shred of hope."
Calls for urgent restoration
Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, stated: "Safe and legal routes save lives. Women and children attempting to flee devastating wars and brutal regimes in countries like Sudan and Afghanistan are being driven into small boats by desperation. No parent risks their child’s life crossing the Channel in a small boat unless they believe the dangers they are fleeing are even greater than those they face at sea." He urged the government to restore refugee family reunion alongside expanding new safe routes.
A Home Office spokesperson responded: "The immigration and asylum bill will reform human rights laws to preserve protection for those in need, while bearing down on abuse of the asylum system. We have also recently announced that the rollout of new safe and legal routes for refugees will begin in the autumn. Under this government’s reforms to create a fairer asylum system, family reunion will no longer be automatic. Those seeking to bring family members to the UK will need to meet stricter criteria."
