Refugees: Families

(asked on 2nd June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to expand the eligibility criteria for family reunion refugee status to include adult refugees sponsoring their (1) adult children, (2) parents,  and (3) siblings under the age of 25; and whether they will allow unaccompanied children now in the UK to sponsor their parents and siblings under the age of 25.


Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford Portrait
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 16th June 2020

The Government already provides a safe and legal route to bring refugee families together through its family reunion policy. This allows a partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.

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. There are separate provisions in the Rules to allow extended family to sponsor children to come here where there are serious and compelling circumstances.

Further, 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.

It is the Government’s view that if children were allowed to sponsor family, this would risk creating incentives for more children to be encouraged, or even forced, to leave their family and risk hazardous journeys to the UK. This plays into the hands of criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people and goes against our safeguarding responsibilities.

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