Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Home Office response to report on re-inspection of family reunion applications, published on 21 February 2023, and the accepted recommendation from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) to introduce criteria for expediting applications based on vulnerability, when this criteria will be incorporated into family reunion policy guidance.

The Family Reunion guidance was published on 12 April 2023. This introduced a prioritisation process which includes the expedition of all applications from unaccompanied children. Requests for prioritisation from applicants or their representatives will be determined by a manager, who will undertake a holistic consideration of the applicant’s circumstances.

We are committed to improving and speeding up processing times for all family reunion applications.