Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering allowing refugee children to join relatives, such as grandparents, in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates

Our refugee family reunion policy allows immediate family members of a person in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection status – that is a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18, who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin – to reunite with them in the UK. We have no plans to extend these provisions.

Where a family reunion application is rejected under the Immigration Rules, such as in the case of refugee child applying to join extended relatives, the Entry Clearance Officer must consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting a visa outside the Rules.