Press Release: NEW REPORT ON THE UK's BROKEN FAMILY REUNION SYSTEM

​Today, RAMFEL releases its report, Safe Routes to Nowhere: The UK’s Broken Promises on Family Reunion, exploring how the UK’s family reunion systematically fails to provide safe routes for refugees to bring their family members to the UK.
The result of nearly 2.5 years of work, this report draws on RAMFEL’s casework experience and government data, which they have either made available or which has been obtained through Freedom of Information requests. This evidences a system where:

• Many people in conflict zones are prevented from even applying for family reunion as they cannot attend a Visa Application Centre (VAC) to enrol their biometrics, a mandatory requirement. As of February 2024, the government had only allowed one person to be exempted from this requirement, despite there being no operational VAC in Sudan, Gaza and Afghanistan, countries where many people are desperately trying to apply for family reunion.

• The government’s default position is to refuse family reunion applications. In one of the few family reunion routes open, Appendix CNP, the government refused 83% of applications between April and September 2023, whilst in another route, Appendix Adult Dependant Relative, the refusal rate was 96% between 2017 and 2020.

• Despite this, the vast majority of people succeed in overturning family reunion refusals at the Immigration Courts. Between 2019 and 2022, around two-thirds of refusals were overturned on appeal, whilst RAMFEL have never failed to overturn a family reunion refusal.

• Government delays in processing family reunion applications are compounded by an average waiting time of 43 weeks for a court date if they refuse the application. For those in conflict zones, they cannot just sit tight for such lengthy and protracted periods.

The inability to make family reunion applications, coupled with the lengthy delays and government propensity to refuse applications forces many people to seek alternative and dangerous routes to safety and their families. This is not speculation; the government’s own analysis confirms that family ties are one of the driving factors motivating refugees to try and get to the UK.
This is evidenced by our own experiences working with those in Sudan. When last year’s conflict started we were working with 14 people there, 13 of whom were children, seeking to apply for family reunion in the UK. One year on, only 2 have been given UK visas, with many either stranded in Sudan or having attempted dangerous journeys and suffered serious abuse en route.
Our report makes 5 recommendations to improve the family reunion system, ensuring people can safely and swiftly make applications, greatly reducing the need for them to take dangerous journeys. The report can be viewed here.

Nick Beales, RAMFEL’s Head of Campaigning, stated:
“The UK’s family reunion system is not fit for purpose and needs overhauling. In fact, for the vast majority of people in places such as Sudan and Gaza who qualify for family reunion, submitting an application is not even impossible due to the lack of visa application centre.
The lack of a functioning family reunion system leaves those in conflict zones with no choice but to take dangerous journeys. If the next government is serious about preventing such journeys, then creating a workable application process that allows those with UK family ties to swiftly and safely secure family reunion visas should be a priority on day 1.”

For further information, please contact Nick Beales at [email protected].