Safe Passage says the suspension is unlawful, failing to protect refugee families
The Home Secretary announced a suspension to the Refugee Family Reunion pathway for children reuniting with parents and for partners reuniting, which came into force on 4 September 2025.
Safe Passage International, a charity that works with unaccompanied children and refugees to access safe routes to protection, says the suspension is unlawful, breaching legal obligations, including the duty to safeguarding children.
Jo Cobley, CEO at Safe Passage International said:
“This decision leaves children stuck in refugee camps or dangerous situations, torn apart from their parents. We are working with families suffering from depression, anxiety and even suicidal thoughts, as they deal with the psychological impact of surviving war and human rights abuses. The impact of families being separated in the chaos of fleeing, cannot be underestimated.”
“Parents and partners in the UK endure constant worry and fear, unable to start to rebuild their lives without their children and loved ones with them. The hope of seeing and hugging each other again keeps many of these children and parents going, despite the horrors they have faced. Now, our legal teams cannot provide reassurance they will reunite as a family.”
“The Government is abandoning the UK’s duties to protect refugee children. We are fighting against the suspension as we fear more children and families will turn to smugglers, with yet another safe route closed down, and risk their lives to reach their loved ones.”
According to the latest Home Office data, in the last year, more than 5,000 children have crossed the Channel, over half of them alone. Women and children are especially impacted by the suspension, making up 92% of all Refugee Family Reunion grants, according to the latest Home Office figures.
Since the suspension, refugee spouses and children, can only apply through the same reunion rules for British citizens and settled migrants. Crucially, the now suspended Refugee Family Reunion pathway had no application fees, and less stringent requirements. The remaining family members pathway, intended for family of British Citizens and settled migrants, costs £5,043 for an adult applicant and £4,266 for a child applicant.
Under the remaining rules, sponsors of family members have to earn at least £29,000 a year, or meet the threshold with savings alone (£88,500 for a couple), unless “exceptional circumstances” can be shown. Safe Passage say meeting these financial requirements are nearly impossible for refugees in the UK, given asylum seekers are banned from working, and the ongoing barriers to earning and financial security after securing refugee status.
Safe Passage argues the suspension also doesn’t consider the unique circumstances facing refugees, and the barriers they face by nature of surviving and escaping war and persecution, such as work precarity during conflict, being detained, tortured, enslaved or forced to live in hiding.
Safe Passage International’s lawyers were able to submit a case just before the suspension deadline for a Palestinian refugee in the UK. His wife and three children are stuck in Gaza, struggling to survive amidst the fragile ceasefire and humanitarian crisis. If the application wasn’t submitted before the suspension, this family would have had to pay £17,841, which they cannot afford.
Safe Passage International say this family’s situation is indicative of many more who will now not be able to reunite due to the suspension. The charity is also concerned for refugees with disabilities who will be even less likely to meet requirements for the limited routes still open.
The legal challenge comes as the Government has announced more asylum reforms, further restricting refugee family reunion, such as ending the right to family reunion for those under the new “core protection”.
Jo Cobley, of Safe Passage, said:
“If the Government is serious about providing safety and protection to people fleeing war and persecution it would reopen refugee family reunion, and abandon its plans to restrict other pathways.”
Piya Muqit, Executive Director of Migrants' Law Project at Asylum Aid, which represents Safe Passage International, said: “Our daily interactions with clients highlight the profound psychological distress refugees experience when separated from their families, many of whom are in active conflict zones.
“Introducing income thresholds, high fees, and language requirements for refugee family reunification will make the process longer and more difficult because specialist legal advice is necessary to navigate the complex process and the fact that legal aid work is so poorly paid means that there are very few lawyers able and willing to take on such work. These added hurdles cause delays that can be a matter of life and death.
“Ultimately, this will push refugee families towards dangerous routes, such as small-boat crossings, and severely affect the mental health of refugees in the UK, who have already been recognised as being in need of protection.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
This news was covered by the Guardian as an exclusive on 2/25/2026.
*92% of all Refugee Family Reunion visas are for women and children. Source: refugee-family-reunion-visa-grants-datasets-sep-2025.xlsx
Fees for applicants under Appendix FM for British Citizens:
It costs £1,938 per applicant for an application for entry clearance
Additionally, sponsors must also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is currently £1,035 per year of leave granted for adults, and £776 per year of leave granted for applicants under 18 at the time of application, and rounded up to the nearest 6 months. IHS must be paid upfront for the length of the visa.
For those granted visas under Appendix FM, they are given leave for two years and nine months meaning that the IHS is £3,105 for an adult, and £2,326 for a child.
About the legal challenge:
Safe Passage’s legal case, represented by Asylum Aid, was lodged with the Courts on 28 November 2025, and was granted permission on 19 February 2026 expected to be heard in Court later in 2026
Grounds for legal challenge:
Irrationality: the Home Office failed to properly consider the consequences of this decision, and whether it would achieve its aims. It is irrational to require refugees to go through a more complex route to family reunion, if those applications are ultimately likely to be granted where the refugee can show “exceptional circumstances”. These pointless requirements create unnecessary burdens for refugees and society, and hamper refugees’ integration.
Breach of best interests duties to children: The decision breaches the Home Office’s duty to have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It fails to assess the impact of the suspension on children, who could be left facing persecution or war in their home countries and may take dangerous journeys to the UK to reunite with family.
Breach of Equality Act: The decision breaches the Equality Act, by failing to consider the impact on women, children, and refugees with disabilities who may find it more difficult to meet the requirements. Women and children make up the vast majority of refugee family reunion grants, and may now be left for prolonged periods of time in dangerous situations, facing war, torture, persecution, trafficking and sexual violence.
About Safe Passage International
We use the law to work with refugees to access safe routes and reunite with family, and campaign on the need for safe routes for refugees. We are the leading international family reunion charity assisting unaccompanied child refugees in Europe and beyond. We believe every person has the right to be safe, safe to be with their family and safe to rebuild their lives.