Cross-Party Group Calls for Improved Refugee Routes and Family Reunification Measures

A cross-party group of Members of Parliament (MPs) is urging the UK government to resettle a minimum of 5,000 refugees each year, alongside making it easier for refugee families to be reunited. The recommendation comes from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugees, which is calling for enhanced legal routes for refugees to enter the UK, alongside measures to tackle people smuggling operations.

Among the MPs is Lord Alf Dubs, a former child refugee, who has joined fellow parliamentarians in urging reforms to the UK’s current refugee and family reunion systems. According to the APPG, the government’s UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) consistently fails to meet its annual target, with only 435 refugees resettled in the year to September 2024, far short of the intended 5,000.

The APPG’s new report also highlights a backlog of over 11,000 cases related to family reunification, with MPs criticising the process for being overly complex, restrictive, and slow. They argue that these delays result in prolonged family separations, particularly when families need to be together during times of crisis. The MPs concluded that the lack of viable legal routes for refugees to enter the UK is exacerbating irregular migration.

To address these issues, the APPG is calling for reforms to immigration rules that would allow refugee children already in the UK to sponsor their close family members to join them. Additionally, the group has suggested a pilot humanitarian visa programme for refugees from Sudan and Eritrea.

The report also pointed to the disparity between the UK’s reception of refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan. While tens of thousands of Ukrainians were welcomed into the UK following the war, far fewer Afghans have been resettled under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) after the Taliban’s return to power. MPs are urging the government to uphold its commitment to resettle 20,000 vulnerable Afghans under the ACRS scheme.

MPs also raised concerns about the limited options available for individuals from countries not covered by nationality-specific schemes. In light of this, they called for the government to address the lack of accessible, safe, and legal routes for those seeking asylum in the UK.

The report follows the government’s recent announcement to criminalise endangering lives at sea, with offenders facing up to five years in prison. However, Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, expressed concern that the new offence could lead to refugees themselves being prosecuted.