Thousands of families hit by pause of lifeline refugee visa route as scale of crackdown revealed
Thousands of families, including more than 6,000 children, will be affected by the closure of the lifeline visa route that allows refugees to reunite in the UK, according to new analysis that reveals the true impact of the crackdown.
It was announced in September by the then home secretary, Yvette Cooper, that new applications from refugees who wanted to bring their loved ones to safety in the United Kingdom were temporarily banned. Cooper said the plan put pressure on council housing and was being manipulated by people-trafficking gangs.
But data analysis by the British Red Cross predicts thousands of families will remain separated as a result of the temporary ban.
According to estimates based on previous Ministry of Internal Affairs data, it turns out that at least 4,900 families will be affected by the pause between September 2025 and April 2026. It is stated that this number may include 6,300 children, 1,500 of whom are unaccompanied.
The majority of beneficiaries of the refugee family reunification program were women and children; This figure accounted for 91 percent of visas issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs since 2010.
New requirements for refugees are expected to be announced next spring and could impose financial requirements that many people will struggle to meet. Aid agencies have already said the crackdown could make Channel crossings more dangerous as women and children left in war zones try to reunite with their families in the UK.
In a new report published on Tuesday, the British Red Cross warned that unaccompanied children remain at risk as the program is paused.
They are calling on ministers to exempt unaccompanied children trying to reunite with their parents in the UK from any future financial requirements.
In the case of one family supported by the charity, a Sudanese man was able to be reunited with his children in the UK, but only after coming close to tragedy. “Since the situation in Sudan was critical, I immediately contacted my family. If my children had been late one day, they would have died. It was only one day. But they set out early in the morning. They left the village at 7 in the morning. At 10 in the morning, [the fighters] raided the village. “A lot of people died.”
Another Afghan man also told the charity he was “always worried someone would kidnap my children” before being reunited with his family. “I was constantly thinking about them, their safety, their living conditions, because they were alone there. I have family there, but it’s still not enough to not have my father.”
Ethiopian computer science student Umer Heyi said: Independent He described his sadness at missing the deadline to bring his wife and two-year-old son to the UK.
Umer received the refugee scholarship on September 4 and tried to apply for his family, but the program closed at 15:00 that day.
She said of her son: “If I can’t save him, if I can’t protect him, then what do I have?
“We just want an opportunity to save our lives and not be separated.”
With the closure of the refugee family reunification scheme, those settling in the UK can only sponsor immediate family members to come to the UK if they meet the £29,000 annual salary threshold.
Umer, who has a degree in computer science, is currently taking a cyber security course to find a job in the UK.
Olivia Field, head of policy at the British Red Cross, said: “We know that reuniting with family is vital for wellbeing and integration.
“The government’s proposed changes to refugee family reunification risk placing unaccompanied children in dangerous situations and will raise concerns among people already in the UK as they fear for the safety of their loved ones.”
A Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesman said: “Recognizing the pressure it puts on local authorities and public services, we have recently taken action to suspend the means of reuniting with refugee families.
“We understand the devastating circumstances some families are in, so there are other avenues individuals can take to reunite with their families.”
