More than 16,000 refugees unable to reunite with families in UK, says Refugee Council

More than 16,000 refugees have been unable to reunite with their families in the UK after the government suspended the refugee family reunion route last September, according to the Refugee Council. The scheme allowed refugees to apply for immediate family members to join them, but it was initially suspended until spring and has not been reinstated.

The Refugee Council, using Home Office data, estimated that 16,300 people have been barred from applying in the 10 months since the suspension. Of those, 90% are women and children – around 9,273 children and 5,835 women. Other safe and legal routes have seen a third drop in arrivals, while new schemes like community sponsorship have only brought about 1,000 people to the UK in the past decade. The government expects new routes to initially bring in only a few hundred refugees.

An Iranian refugee living in London with her two children said her husband remains trapped in dangerous circumstances in Iran. She blamed delays in her own asylum case for preventing a timely family reunion application. She described the suspension as “agonising torture” and a human rights violation.

Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said safe routes save lives and urged the government to restore family reunion. “Women and children fleeing war are being driven to small boats by desperation,” he said. A Home Office spokesperson said the immigration bill will reform human rights laws and make family reunion no longer automatic, with stricter criteria for applicants.