Britain suspends refugees’ family reunion applications to toughen rules
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Migrants wading in the sea to board an inflatable dinghy leaving the coast of northern France, near Calais, to cross the English Channel.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Britain’s government announced on Sept 1 it was suspending a scheme enabling families of refugees already in the UK to apply to join their relatives, as it tries to reduce irregular immigration.
The Labour Party is struggling to stop record numbers of undocumented migrants arriving in the country by small boats, which is fuelling a bitter national debate and boosting support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.
Interior Minister Yvette Cooper said she was temporarily suspending new applications to the so-called refugee family reunion route as she moves to reform the system.
“We do need to address the immediate pressures on local authorities and the risks from criminal gangs using family reunion as a pull factor to encourage more people onto dangerous boats,” she added.
Home Office figures released earlier in September showed there were almost 21,000 refugee family reunion visas issued in the year to June 2025, the vast majority handed out to women and children.
Ms Cooper said the suspension comes ahead of further reforms set to be announced later in 2025 which will look at “contribution requirements” for family members and “longer periods before newly granted refugees can apply”.
“Until the new framework is introduced, refugees will be covered by the same family migration rules and conditions as everyone else,” Ms Cooper told Parliament.
Immigration currently tops Britons’ concerns, ahead of the economy and the National Health Service, an Ipsos survey published in August found.
More than 111,000 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest-ever number of applications since records began in 2001, Home Office data showed earlier in September.
More than 50,000 migrants have made the dangerous English Channel crossing from northern France since Labour’s Keir Starmer became prime minister in July 2024.
The arrivals, which also occurred under the previous Conservative government, are causing discontent that is being tapped into by Reform, led by hard-right firebrand Nigel Farage.
Ms Cooper said the government expects to start returning the first migrants to France under a recent deal later this month.
UK officials have begun detaining people under a “one-in, one-out” agreement
In exchange, Britain will accept an equal number of migrants from France who can apply for a visa to enter the UK via an online platform, giving priority to nationalities most vulnerable to smugglers and people with ties in Britain.
“We expect the first returns to begin later this month,” Ms Cooper told Parliament.
“Applications have also been opened for the reciprocal legal route, with the first cases under consideration subject to strict security checks,” she added.
Reform has consistently led Labour in national opinion polls for several months now, although the next general election is not expected until 2029. AFP
