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Stoppage refugees Being able to bring your close family to the UK leave people in grave danger and hinder integration for those who are already here home Secretary warn up.
Temporary ban on new applications from refugees wishing to bring The departure of their loved ones to the UK was announced in September. At the time, charities condemned the move and threatened to shut it down family reunion This route will push people into the arms of smugglers.
New requirements for refugees are expected to be announced next spring, and these may introduce new financial or language requirements – mirroring Changes to other legal migration routes.
Now new research from the charity Helen Bamber Foundation, which has supported refugees with previous applications, warns that the closure of the scheme has put thousands of families, including children, at grave risk.
Before the scheme was suspended, the charity had supported at least three clients whose children had died, in some cases just days before their reunion.
In one case, a father fleeing persecution and torture in Ethiopia watched as his eldest son was kidnapped while he waited for a decision on his reunification application.
Before the ban was announced, people could apply to bring their family members, such as a spouse or young children, to the UK if they received refugee status.
Kamena Dorling, head of policy at the Helen Bamber Foundation, said: “With each passing day, the risk of being harmed, killed or kidnapped increases. Extending the suspension until next spring and then tightening the rules risks turning temporary separation into permanent harm for parents, children, spouses and siblings.”
Another refugee described the experience of separation, saying: “I live in constant pain knowing that [my family] Face daily dangers and extreme hardship. The emotional toll on me has been immense: my mental health has deteriorated, I suffer from severe anxiety and depression, and I now have high blood pressure due to the ongoing stress and worry for their safety.
The charity is warning that the suspension of the scheme will worsen refugee mental health and increase symptoms of depression and PTSD.
Ms Dorling said: “Many of our clients, although in desperate need of therapy, find it almost impossible to engage in treatment when their families remain in danger. They often express intense guilt for not being safe when their loved ones are not safe, and feel unworthy of recovery or stability.
“This emotional distress can seriously hinder their ability to rebuild their lives, learn a new language, pursue education or work, and become part of their communities”.
She had announced the pause when she was the Home Secretary. Yvette Cooper Said human-trafficking gangs were using family reunification rules to encourage illegal migration into the UK.
By June 2025, 20,817 refugee family reunification visas had been issued. However donors argued that the increase in applications could partly be explained by the fact that the Home Office was rapidly working through the asylum backlog, resulting in more refugee grants and family applications.
Over the past decade, 92 percent of these visas were issued to women and children from families of refugees.
Ms Cooper argued that newly approved refugees were applying to return to their families too quickly, with some even applying while living in hotel accommodation.
While the moratorium is in place, refugees can theoretically use other family routes, although this requires a sponsor to have a minimum income of £29,000 per year, adequate accommodation and English language skills.
The average annual earnings of those refugees in employment was £20,000 for men and £18,000 for women, the data shows.