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The government has announced a temporary suspension of new applications for a program that allows refugees to bring family members to the UK.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that, effective this week, refugees will be subject to the same restrictions as other migrants seeking family reunification in the UK.
Generally, this requires a minimum annual income of £29,000, provision of suitable accommodation, and potentially, demonstration of basic English proficiency by the family member.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp commented that “tweaking the family reunion rules are not enough” to address the scale of the UK’s “border security crisis”.
This announcement coincides with Parliament’s return after a summer marked by criticism regarding the use of hotels for migrants arriving via small boats.
On Monday, Cooper declared a temporary suspension of new applications under the existing dedicated refugee family reunion route, which permits those granted asylum in the UK to bring their family members without preconditions.
Cooper explained that the rules “were designed many years ago to help families separated by war, conflict and persecution” but are now misaligned with those of the UK’s neighbors, necessitating restrictions.
She noted that European nations like Denmark and Switzerland require refugees to wait two years before applying for family reunification, allowing time to secure employment and housing to support their families upon arrival.
Conversely, in the UK, “those applications come in on average in around a month”, often before the refugee even leaves asylum housing, she stated.
Consequently, Cooper indicated that many refugee families are seeking assistance from local councils to avoid homelessness, constituting over a quarter of homelessness cases in some local authorities.
Refugees applying to bring family members to the UK will now be governed by standard immigration regulations, which impose several limitations.
Further reforms to family reunion pathways will be detailed later this year, with implementation targeted for spring.
The government has faced scrutiny following a summer of headlines surrounding small boat crossings and protests related to asylum-seeker accommodations.
Responding to the rule changes, Philp asserted that the government’s “failure” to address the border crisis is fueling “protests up and down the country”.
“Where those protests are peaceful, I support them,” he added.
“If this government were serious about fixing this problem, they would know that little tweaks here and there are not enough,” he stated.
Philp urged the government to reinstate the abandoned Rwanda plan, which aimed to deter Channel crossings by relocating some individuals arriving in the UK illegally to the East African nation.
The government has committed to ending the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers by 2029.
However, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated in a prior BBC interview that he “would like to bring that forward”.
He told BBC Radio 5Live’s Matt Chorley: “Local people by and large do not want these hotels in their towns, in their place, and nor do I.”
He clarified that the only way to vacate the hotels is by processing asylum cases in an “orderly” and expedited manner, and subsequently returning those not entitled to remain in the UK.
Cooper also mentioned the government’s intention to revise the “interpretation” of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), an international treaty that lawyers have invoked to challenge deportations of unsuccessful asylum applicants.
Recent weeks have seen growing calls, not only from right-leaning factions but also from some former Labour ministers, for either withdrawing from the convention or suspending specific provisions.
The government maintains it will not take such action but is reviewing how the treaty’s rights to family life are applied in immigration cases.
The Conservatives have advocated for the ECHR to be “disapplied” from immigration matters and are assessing whether the UK should exit the treaty entirely.
Reform UK also supports withdrawing from the treaty.
Cooper added that the government anticipates the first migrant returns under the UK’s agreement with France will occur “later this month”.
Over 28,000 migrants have reached the UK via small boats this year, exceeding the figure for the same period in 2024.
In August, 55 small boats crossed the Channel, representing the lowest monthly figure since 2019.
However, smuggling networks appear to be increasing the number of individuals per boat, with an average of 65 people per vessel last month.
The Reform UK-led authority suggests that three hotels housing migrants may violate planning regulations.
A judge indicates that police in Essex have been encountering “difficult and hostile” environments.
Protesters from opposing sides have gathered near a hotel accommodating asylum seekers.
Demonstrators assembled outside the Thistle Hotel on Saturday afternoon.
Councillors affirm that Bristol’s diversity is a key asset of the city.
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