Exposed! The Daily Mail's lies about migration

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.

Author

Layla, Advocacy Officer