6 September 2022

Family Reunion Application for a Person with Refugee Status

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Family Reunion Application for a Person with Refugee Status

The UK’s Refugee Family Reunion Policy allows people with refugee status or humanitarian protection to be reunited with their pre-flight dependent family members. Family members of an individual who fled their home country to seek asylum in the UK can come to the UK by applying for Refugee Family Reunion.

Refugee Family Reunion

Recognised refugees can live in the UK for up to 5 years and then apply for Indefinite leave to remain. Refugees fleeing to the UK often have to leave family members, spouses, and dependent children behind.

Under the Family Reunification UK policy, people with refugee status or humanitarian protection can sponsor their family members to join them in the UK. The family of a refugee can only be reunited if the applicant successfully proves they were part of a family unit before the sponsor fled their home country.

Family members arriving in the UK will not be granted refugee status under the Refugee Reunion route. If the Refugee Family Reunion application is approved, the leave to remain of the family member will be of the same duration as the sponsor’s.

Who Can Bring Family Members Under the Refugee Family Reunion Route?

The person seeking to bring the immediate family members to the UK will be called a sponsor. Under the UK Refugee Family Reunion policy, the qualifying sponsor is the one who

  • Entered and currently residing in the UK lawfully
  • Is not yet a British citizen
  • Held a refugee or humanitarian protection for at least 5 years
  • Admitted under the Gateway Protection Programme, Mandate Refugee Programme, or Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) scheme

If the sponsor wants to bring their partner to the UK, they must prove that they are married or in a civil partnership. If the applicant fails to prove this, they can still qualify if

  • They were granted humanitarian protection status or refugee status on or after 9 October 2006
  • They have been living together for a minimum of 2 years and the sponsor made a successful claim for asylum on or after October 2006

If the sponsor’s children are coming to the UK using Refugee Family Reunion, they must

  • Be aged under 18 years
  • Intend to live with their parents in the UK
  • Not be married or have an independent family unit

Applying For Family Reunion UK

Go to the gov.uk website to apply online for the entry clearance under the family reunion route.

The sponsor can apply on the behalf of the children, however, the partner or any adult family member has to complete and submit their own application.

If the Family Reunion application is approved, the applicant will be granted entry clearance the family member must travel to the UK within the validity period.

The Border Force officer will examine the entry clearance and identity of the family member. Additionally, the family member has to collect the Biometric Residence Permit from their chosen post office it the UK within the stated period of time after arrival.

Disclaimer:

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Connaught Law and authors accept no responsibility for loss that may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Connaught Law. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Connaught Law.

About the Author

Awais has an extensive experience of advising high net-worth individuals on all types of immigration matters, ranging from investor and entrepreneur visa applications to appeals and judicial reviews in the Immigration Tribunal and the High Court.

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