Refugee warns of damage from family reunion change

The father said changes to the family reunion scheme would cause "everlasting" damage

Plans to make it more difficult for refugees to bring their families to the UK will cause them "everlasting" damage, a former asylum seeker says.

The man, who fled West Africa and is living in Teesside having been granted refugee status, was reunited with his two daughters in February via a dedicated family scheme which has now been paused by the government.

He claimed this would "break" people, adding: "Not seeing my family, I know how depressed I was."

The Home Office said refugees could still access other immigration routes. Previously it said changes to the system would help address "pull factors" driving people to cross the Channel.

The man, who the BBC is not naming due to fears for his safety, was granted asylum in November 2023 - more than three years after he arrived in the UK - after he claimed he was facing political persecution.

Earlier this year, he was able to reunite with his daughters, aged eight and 12, about five years since last seeing them in person.

"The time I saw my children at the airport," he said. "I was one of the happiest fathers in the world."

'No automatic right'

In September the government temporarily suspended all new applications through the family scheme.

It said this was to allow time for a wider review of the system.

At the time, then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the rules "were designed many years ago to help families separated by war, conflict and persecution" but were now out of kilter with the UK's neighbours' rules and restrictions were needed.

In the year to June 2025, there were 20,817 refugee family reunion visas issued in the UK, with about 93% of these issued to children and adult women, according to the Refugee Council.

On 1 October the government said refugees would lose the "automatic right" to have family members come to live with them in the UK but no further details were provided.

There have been multiple protests and counter protests in north-east England in recent months over illegal immigration.

Since August the Home Office has paused the search for new asylum seeker accommodation in the region.

'Frantic' applications

A caseworker for Justice First in Stockton, Emma Pearson, said the way the family scheme was suddenly halted had caused "chaos" for the charity, with the government not making it clear when the pause would start.

It led to a "frantic" few days of trying to get as many applications through the government's online portal as possible, she said.

Ms Pearson also said she worried putting more restrictions on safe and legal family reunions might lead to more asylum seekers putting their children on to small boats to circumvent the new rules.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We have recently moved to suspend the refugee family reunion route, acknowledging the pressures it is putting on local authorities and public services.

"There remain other family routes which individuals may be eligible to apply for in order to reunite with family."