Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to improve processes for identifying children in UN-recognised refugee camps beyond Europe who have rights to family reunion in the UK.

UNHCR closely monitor the refugee population and are constantly assessing the vulnerability of those registered with them, both inside and outside of refugee camps. This includes the identification of children in need of protection and an assessment of the possible solutions available to them. One of the key priorities of UNHCR is to protect and promote within its capacity the rights of all children falling under its mandate, and UNHCR works with national authorities, international and local organisations to assist, protect and find solutions for displaced children.

Our resettlement schemes provide a safe and legal route to the UK for the most vulnerable refugees who have been referred to us by UNHCR. ‘Children and adolescents at risk’ is one of UNHCR’s seven resettlement submission categories which they use to refer refugees for resettlement under our Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS). Additionally, our Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme (VCRS) targets ‘at-risk’ children and their family members in the Middle East and North Africa region.

As part of their identification and referrals process, UNHCR will establish whether registered refugees have family members overseas. Family connections in the UK may be taken into account by UNHCR but will not necessarily determine whether a person is referred the UK for resettlement - this is just one of many factors UNHCR considers when assessing a refugee’s resettlement need.

If families already resettled in the UK have other family members based in one of the host countries where our resettlement schemes operate and they wish to join their extended family in the UK, there is a process by which UNHCR can be informed of the family connection. Resettled individuals should contact their local authority for more information.

Additionally, our Mandate resettlement scheme is specifically designed to reunite refugees with close family members in the UK, where UNHCR has referred them for resettlement and the family member is able to accommodate them.

Our family reunion policy allows immediate family members of those granted protection here to reunite with them. The Immigration Rules also provide for extended family members in the UK to sponsor children in serious and compelling circumstances. In addition, there is provision in the policy to grant visas outside the Rules in exceptional circumstances, which caters for family members who otherwise do not qualify under the Rules.