Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consider proposals put forward by the British Red Cross Torn Apart campaign to extend refugee family reunion to include young people over the age of 18 who were living with their parents when they were forced to flee.

James Brokenshire

There are no plans to extend the family reunion criteria. The current 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.