Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the British Red Cross report Not So Straightforward and its campaign to reunite refugee families, Torn Apart.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
We are reviewing our process for dealing with applications for refugee family reunion in consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Justice. We are working closely with the British Red Cross and are considering the recommendations made in the Not So Straightforward report in detail.
We have now improved our guidance on processing family reunion applications so that it is clear, consistent and accessible. We intend to publish this in the next few weeks. We have also committed to redesigning the application form to ensure that applicants better understand the process and what is required of them.
There are no plans to extend the family reunion criteria as called for in the British Red Cross Torn Apart campaign. The current family reunion policy meets our international obligations and strikes the right balance. Where family members cannot meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules, such as in the case of an 18 year old applying to join their refugee parents in the UK, we consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting entry clearance outside the Rules.
