This government is tearing refugee families apart. Help us stop it.
The UK government is cracking down on family reunion – a lifeline for countless refugees trying to reunite with their loved ones. But the UK government is cracking down on this vital route, including by:
Suspending refugee family reunion, which benefits 92% of women and children
Attacking the right to family life in the UK, protected by international law and essential for all of us
Backtracking on long-standing commitments to protect child refugees and help them reunite with their families
This government is putting politics before compassion – and innocent children will pay the price.
Tell the Home Secretary to stop tearing families apart
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Why this matters
When war or persecution tears families apart, family reunion helps bring them back together and rebuild their lives in safety. It’s a lifeline for many refugees fleeing war or persecution.
But cruel immigration reforms are putting this vital right at risk.
At Safe Passage International, we see what this means every day: children left alone in danger in warzones or unsafe camps, their mental health shattered.
Closing safe routes like family reunion doesn’t stop these children getting onto small boats, but it does make their journeys more dangerous.
Last year, 24 children died trying to reach the UK – a record number.
Noon and Leila* were recently reunited with their dad, after Taliban persecution separated them for years. They’re now rebuilding their lives together, but new reforms could deny that chance to many other children. (*Names changed)
Our demands to the Home Secretary:
1. Restore family reunion
2. Uphold the right to family life
3. Stop spreading fear and division
What you can do next
Get your social media pack + posters ➜
What better way to show your support for refugee families than to make it visible? Download our free posters and social media templates to show your support online and in your community.
Read our explainer ➜
Get clued up about family reunion — how it works, what its suspension means for families, what’s the government planning and how to fight back.
Download the activist toolkit ➜
Our guide is packed with ideas, tips and talking points to take your activism further — from talking to loved ones about the campaign, to lobbying your MP or getting local press attention.
Download your conversation guide ➜
Change starts with conversations. Talking to those around you about family reunion can help build understanding and counter the misinformation which is ripe on migration issues.
We’re a people-powered movement and bold campaigns to challenge the government like this one are only possible thanks to people like you.
Stories of family reunion
Meet the people behind the headlines. These are just some of the families we’ve helped reunite in recent months — children who simply want to be safe and with those who love them. These are the reunions this government is putting at risk by attacking the vital safe routes they rely on.
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Leila and Noon were separated from their dad after Taliban threats forced him to flee Afghanistan to protect his family and his own life.
His work with the Afghan Border Police made him a target, and so he set on a journey to the UK, hoping to bring his daughters over soon. They were just 1 and 3 years old when he last saw them.
But visa rejections and delays left them stranded apart for years. Until finally, earlier this year, we welcomed the two girls at the airport.
Leila and Noon are now rebuilding their lives, safe and with their father by their side. They’re attending school in the UK and making friends.
*Alias used to protect their identity
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Iyad*'s life changed in an instant when an Israeli airstrike took his parents, five siblings, and grandparents in Gaza.
At just 13, he had lost everything and was badly injured. He had no other option but to flee and try to reunite with his uncle in the UK.
Despite huge obstacles, our team helped him secure a visa and reunite with the little family he had left. He’s now finally beginning to heal and rebuild his life, after months of horrors.
But his story is rare. Getting visas for people from Gaza is incredibly challenging right now, and the government’s attack on family reunion will leave even more people stranded.
*Name changed to protect his identity
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Shamsi* was just 17 when she lost her grandmother, who raised her in Somalia. She ended up in an abusive home, where her relatives tried to forcibly marry her to a man decades older. Her only hope at a future was to flee.
She set out on a journey to join her aunt in the UK, but ended up stranded in Cyprus for months, alone, sick and facing daily violence and harassment. Our team helped her secure a visa to safely travel to the UK, where’s she’s thriving in her new life.
Thanks to our social support team, Shamsi is now going to college, getting the healthcare she needs, and even campaigning with us for change!
*Named changed to protect her identity
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Burian* (12) and Valeria* (16), from Ukraine, are finally back in their mum’s arms.
They had been living with their elderly grandparents in Ukraine, close to the Belarus border. When the war began, their mum, in the UK on a temporary visa, was unable to return to them.
Our legal team fought for them to be reunited, but the Home Office refused their first application. Even after we challenged the decision in court and won, months went by without action. Finally, this spring, their visas were granted. And now, after a long and exhausting fight, they’re together again.Now, Burian is attending school and has made friends with other Ukrainian boys, while his sister, Valeria, continues remote learning with her previous school and takes English lessons. And every day, they get to come home to their mum again.
*Names changed to protect their identiy
About Safe Passage International
Safe Passage International is a charity that exists to open and defend safe routes for refugees, and help families torn apart by war and persecution to reunite safely. We started in 2015, when volunteer lawyers in Calais helped unaccompanied children reunite with their families in the UK. Since then, we’ve grown into a movement spanning the UK, France and Greece, combining legal casework, grassroots campaigning, and political advocacy.
We’ve helped thousands of children and families find safety across Europe, and continue to fight for lasting change so no one has to risk their life to reach protection. We’ve never stopped fighting for the right of every family to be together, especially after fleeing war or persecution.