The Daily Mail claims about refugees and family reunion visas are misleading and harmful.
Their most recent headline – “At least 50 relatives of asylum seekers are joining them in Britain every day with the numbers trebling in a year, figures reveal” – is purposefully written to stoke fear.

In reality, family reunion visas are incredibly difficult to obtain. But instead of acknowledging this, the Mail chooses to spin the numbers in a way that fuels anti-migrant hysteria. At RAMFEL, we work closely with refugees and their families, and our experience and research show a very different picture.

So, here’s what you really need to know.

Myth 1: "Asylum seekers bring over 50 relatives a day"

The Reality: Refugee family reunion visas are very restrictive. These visas only allow spouses and children to reunite with someone already granted refugee status. Many applications are refused despite meeting these criteria.
For other family members, such as minor siblings or parents of minor children, there are no safe routes to the UK. The UK, alongside Switzerland, is the only European country that does not even allow refugee children to sponsor their parents.

​Without safe routes for family reunification, many have no choice but to embark on dangerous journeys and the UK government’s own research confirms that family ties are what primarily drives refugees to seek sanctuary in the UK.
Refugees face extreme difficulties bringing their families to safety because:

• Many can’t even apply. Refugees in war zones like Sudan, Gaza, and Afghanistan can’t reach Visa Application Centres (VACs) to complete the mandatory biometrics step. As of early 2024, the government allowed only one exemption to this requirement, despite no VACs operating in these areas. They refused 83 other requests for biometric exemption, meaning those peoples’ visa applications weren’t even considered. When we say safe routes don’t exist, we mean it.
• Most applications are wrongfully rejected. The government refuses most family reunion applications by default. For example, between April and September 2023, they refused 83% of children’s applications under one visa route. When these decisions are appealed, two thirds of the time they are overturned and the person is given a visa.
• Delays are extremely long. Even when families qualify for family reunion, the government takes exceptionally long to process applications. When cases are refused, it takes an average of 43 weeks to get a court date to appeal, leaving families to try and survive in conflict zones for long periods. People cannot just sit and wait for years in war zones, so many have no choice but to flee and seek other means of entry.

 
Myth 2: ‘“The UK is swarmed with refugees”

The Reality: Just 1% of the refugees who have been displaced across the world make the UK their home. They make up around 0.6% of the UK population. And, based on the number of asylum applications per capita, the UK currently ranks 20th in Europe. The number of refugees has increased across all European countries, not just the UK. This is due to huge humanitarian disasters and wars across the world, which the UK and its European neighbours are invariably at least partly responsible for.

Myth 3: “Illegal immigrants."

The Reality: Politicians routinely refer to refugees as ‘illegal’, but seeking asylum is a legal right under international human rights law. It is also recognised that those fleeing war and persecution often won’t have passports or visas to the country in which they seek protection. Consequently, they will need to enter irregularly and then formally claim asylum. Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman admitted herself that this was the way to submit an asylum claim in the UK.

It is practically impossible to seek refuge in the UK via a so-called “safe and legal route”. The family reunion visa system for refugees is riddled with barriers, meaning most people who qualify for a family reunion visa can’t access them.

So, what’s the truth?

Our 2024 report, Safe Routes to Nowhere, highlights the systemic failings in the UK’s family reunion system:

• Refugees stuck in conflict zones cannot meet the UK’s rigid bureaucratic requirements.
• Government refusal rates are alarmingly high, but most of these decisions are later overturned in court. RAMFEL has never lost a family reunion appeal, showing the government’s initial refusals are often unjustified.
• The lack of safe routes forces families to risk their lives on dangerous journeys. For example, out of 14 cases we worked on in Sudan after the country descended into war—13 of them involving children--only 2 families were granted visas after a year. Others are still stranded or have simply disappeared.

Our Call to Action
We urge the government to:

• Stop the hate fueled language towards refugees
• Expand the scope of family reunion, so more refugees can safely apply to reunite with UK based family.
• Waive biometric enrolment requirements for those in conflict zones.
• Speed up family reunion decision-making and reduce delays.
• Stop default rejections of applications and improve decision-making>

Families living in war zones deserve a chance to live together in safety, without further risking their lives to do so. It’s time for right wing publications to stop the dangerous rhetoric and address the real issues with compassion and humanity.

​Last Thursday, we delivered our petition to No. 10 Downing Street and to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, calling for an end to the use of hotels as asylum accommodation. With over 500 signatures, it sends a clear message that the current system is failing families and urgent change is needed.

​For too many asylum seekers, what was meant to be temporary accommodation has turned into long-term confinement in unsanitary conditions. Families have shared stories of cramped rooms overrun with rats, and inedible food. These are not the promised safe spaces but degrading, inhumane conditions that no one should be subjected to.

Children, in particular, have suffered the most—enduring poor living conditions that have caused infections, stomach problems, and declining mental health, all while falling behind academically.

Saba, our client and a mother of 2 young children described the struggles of having a new born in a hotel, with no space for a cot and no access to a fridge to store breast milk.

We welcome Yvette Cooper’s announcement that some hotels will be served closure notices. However, this should just be the beginning. The 2026 contractual break clause offers a crucial opportunity to end the reliance on hotels and instead invest in community-based solutions. Local dispersal housing would provide asylum seekers with safe, stable accommodation while significantly reducing costs and fostering integration into society. We must ensure that families receive targeted support to rebuild their lives in stable environments.
​
Thank you to everyone who signed the petition, shared their stories, and stood with us. Together, we’ll keep pushing to ensure the government fulfils its promise to end hotel accommodation.

UPDATE: SECTION 3C LEAVE AND HOW TO PROVE IT 
What is section 3C leave? 
If you make an in-time application to extend your limited leave to remain, your leave (and the conditions attached to it, such as your right to work or right to claim public funds) is extended automatically under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971, until the application and any appeal is decided. However, the Home Office does not routinely provide people with proof of that. That has caused people on section 3C leave real difficulties if they are asked by employers or landlords for example, for proof of their status or their right to work or rent, and they are unable to do so. 
 
The RAMFEL & Adjei case establishes that people on section 3C leave have a right to digital proof of their status, so that they can demonstrate that they have this status and these rights to others, including their employers, landlords, the DWP, the DVLA and so on. The judgment by Mr Justice Cavanagh on 7 June 2024 gave the reasons for that. You can read that judgment here. On 27 June 2024 the court made an order declaring that the SSHD’s failure to do this was unlawful.  
 
That should have meant that the Home Office has to put that right. However, the Home Office applied for permission to appeal against the judgment to the Court of Appeal and asked the Court to pause (or ‘stay’) the requirement to roll out digital status to everyone on section 3C leave straight away. The Court of Appeal granted their request on 2 September 2024 – the order is here.  The appeal is likely to be heard by the Court of Appeal in summer 2025.  
 
What does this mean for you? 
Even though there is a ‘stay’ is in place, if you are a person on section 3C leave who is suffering or likely to suffer hardship as a result of not being able to prove your immigration status or right to work, rent and so on, you should still ask the Home Office for a digital way to prove your status.  The Home Office should still consider that request, even while they are appealing against the judgment.  
 
How can I obtain this proof? 
There is no proper process set up by the Home Office to do this. We suggest that individuals make requests for digital proof of their 3C leave status to the Home Office by either:  

1. Requesting it in a letter that is submitted to the Home Office with your fee waiver or the main immigration application to extend your leave to remain/apply for indefinite leave to remain; Or 

1. If you have already made your application, by writing to the team in the Home Office which is processing your application. We have prepared a template email / letter, which can be accessed here. 

 
We also recommend that you set up a UKVI account and apply for an eVisa if you have not done so already – you can find more information about how to do that on our website here. Having the account and eVisa all set up may speed things up if the Home Office does decide to give you digital proof of section 3C leave.   
 
If you do not get a prompt reply, you can also consider asking your MP to get involved.  
 
If you do not receive a positive response and you are concerned about the impact of being unable to prove your section 3C leave status, you can contact RAMFEL or the lawyers at Bhatt Murphy solicitors who represented RAMFEL and Ms Adjei to see if they can help: 
 
RAMFEL – [email protected] 
Janet Farrell – [email protected] 
Fiona O’Brien – [email protected] ​