Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of enabling unaccompanied child refugees in the UK to sponsor close family members to join them in the UK.

The Government has consistently made clear its considerable concern that allowing refugee children to sponsor family risks creating incentives for more children to be encouraged, or even forced, to leave their family and attempt hazardous journeys to the UK. This would play into the hands of criminal gangs, undermining our safeguarding responsibilities.

Government policy makes clear that there is discretion to grant visas outside the Immigration Rules, which caters for extended family members in exceptional circumstances – including young adult sons or daughters who are dependent on family here and living in dangerous situations. Refugees can also sponsor adult dependent relatives living overseas to join them where, due to age, illness or disability, that person requires long-term personal care that can only be provided by relatives in the UK.