UK Suspends Refugee Family Reunification

The United Kingdom has temporarily suspended new applications for refugee family reunification as part of a tightening of its asylum policies.

The Labour government, facing record numbers of arrivals on small boats, said it plans to return the first group of migrants to France later this month under a bilateral agreement signed with Paris this summer.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament that a reform of the family reunification system will be presented before the end of the year. 

In the meantime, she said immediate pressures on local authorities and the risks posed by criminal gangs exploiting family reunification routes must be addressed. Cooper announced temporary rules suspending new applications from refugee families.

According to the Home Office, 21,000 refugee family visas were granted between June 2024 and June 2025, the majority issued to women and children.

The British Refugee Council criticised the move, warning that it will drive more vulnerable people into the hands of people smugglers. Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of the council, said that family reunification has been one of the few safe and legal pathways for refugees fleeing war and persecution to bring their spouses and children to the UK.

Between June 2024 and June 2025, more than 111,000 asylum applications were filed in the UK, the highest number since records began in 2001, according to Home Office figures.

Over 50,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats since Keir Starmer became Prime Minister in July 2024.

Cooper also referred to the UK-France treaty signed in August, which requires the return of small boat arrivals to France in exchange for Britain accepting an equivalent number of migrants from French territory. The first group of arrivals was detained in Dover in early August under the agreement, with the Home Secretary confirming that the first returns are expected later this month.