On 17th November the government published a new policy paper detailing planned changes to its asylum and refugee policies. These sweeping changes have left us shocked and dismayed: they will no doubt make life more difficult for asylum seekers and refugees across the country, not to mention for their family members waiting abroad – often in dangerous situations – for reunion.
On family reunion, the paper states: “Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion. Those who successfully move off core protection and enter a Work and Study visa route could become eligible to sponsor family members to come to the UK. The same conditions may apply as for other legal migrants and UK citizens.” Core protection, a new form of refugee protection proposed in the paper, requires that a person’s refugee status be reviewed every 2.5 years.
The full policy paper can be read on the UK government website here. The specifics of the new rules for family reunion are still unclear, but what is apparent is that many refugees in the UK will be excluded from, or face significant difficulty in, reuniting with their family members.
We at Together Now will be working hard in the coming weeks to understand the full extent of these changes and their potential impact on our clients and their families. As we do not offer immigration advice we cannot comment on individual applications for family reunion, but please signpost any friends or family with general concerns or questions to enquiries@togethernow.org.uk.
We are actively seeking opportunities to join partners across the refugee and charity sectors in campaigning against these damaging changes. If you want to work together please email us via admin@togethernow.org.uk: we’d love to hear from you.
We reiterate our strong condemnation of these planned changes, which would have devastating consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. At a time of rising far-right rhetoric and growing demonisation of migrants and refugees, it is vital that those in power demonstrate kindness and compassion toward all UK residents, especially those seeking protection.
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