Families Belong Together

Right now, unfair rules are keeping refugee families apart. We want to change that and bring #FamiliesTogether.

Where would you be without your family?

Imagine you had been forced to flee your home because of war and became separated from your mother, father, sister or brother. Alone, in a new country, you have to try and rebuild your life without the love and support of your family, all the while worrying about their safety. This is the reality faced by many refugees in the UK.

With the stroke of a pen, Prime Minister Boris Johnson could change the rules.

To help get his attention, over 70 household names from film, TV and the literary world have written to the Prime Minister - but, we need your help too.

Please take action via Amnesty UK or Refugee Council to send the PM a message to change the rules so that refugee families can finally be reunited and move on with their lives.

We have three simple demands to change this:

Children need their parents
Child refugees in the UK must have the right to sponsor their close family. This will allow them to rebuild their lives together and integrate into their new community.

Fair treatment for young and old
The definition of who qualifies as family to be expanded so that young people who have turned 18 and elderly parents can live in safety with their families in the UK.

Bring back legal aid
The reintroduction of legal aid so refugees who have lost everything have the support they need to navigate the complicated process of being reunited with their families.

Write to your MP and Take Action Now

Write to your MP and ask them to sign the letter being sent to Chris Philip, the Minister for Immigration asking for clarity around these proposed restrictions to refugee family reunion. At present, we have not received any clarity from the government about what these restrictions will look like in practice. In order for MPs to properly scrutinise the bill and understand its consequences detailed clarity must be provided by the minister on refugee family reunion.

Without My Mum

Did your mum ever cut your hair? Everyday family life is wonderful, even the unglamorous bits. But imagine being separated from your children by war and you can’t be there for them.

Watch

Latest

Baroness Ludfords Refugees (Family Reunion) Bill Passes its Second Reading

On Friday afternoon, the 10th of September, the second reading of Baroness Ludford's Refugees (Family Reunion) bill passed its second reading in the house of Lords. The ongoing crisis in Afghanistan has highlighted the vital importance of the measures in the bill, which seek to ensure that more refugees can be joined by family members in the UK.

Families Together Coalition Responds to the Second Reading of the Nationality and Borders Bill

The proposed legislation outlined in the bill effectively creates a discriminatory two-tier asylum system, undermining how the UK fulfils its international obligations to those seeking asylum. The Bill will criminalise and punish refugees, depending on how they arrived in the UK, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of women, men and children who are able to access family reunion, one of the few existing safe and regular routes into the UK.

Families Together Responds to the Nationality and Borders Bill

We are deeply concerned that the Bill seeks to cement many of the harmful proposals outlined in the New Plan for Immigration into UK law. The proposed legislation outlined in the bill effectively creates a discriminatory two-tier asylum system, undermining how the UK fulfils its international obligations to those seeking asylum.

Backlogs in the Asylum System are Keeping Refugee Families Apart

The delays in issuing decisions on asylum applications means that refugee families are kept apart for years at a time, with family members often living in insecure and sometimes dangerous circumstances whilst waiting to reunite.