Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what work her Department is doing with other countries to support refugees with family members in the UK with their asylum claims.

Those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK, are able to sponsor their pre-flight family members to join them under the family reunion policy. This includes those granted humanitarian protection in the UK under one of our resettlement schemes. Those applying under these provisions can use one of UK Visas and Immigration’s global network of over 200 Visa Application Centres. Information on how to apply is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/apply-uk-visa

Family members applying to join relatives under family reunion provisions do not have an asylum claim in the UK. There is no provision in the Immigration Rules for someone to be given a visa to travel to the UK to seek asylum or humanitarian protection.

We are providing support to other European countries to reunite family members in the UK under the Dublin Regulations. For example we support the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to speed up existing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece; we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy and will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.