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No Dad Jokes Without Dad

September 29, 2023

Coalition members, Refugee Council and City of Sanctuary, are collecting the UK’s favourite dad jokes to raise awareness of refugee children who are separated from their dads because of the UK’s unfair family reunion laws.  Whether your dad told the worst jokes, or you’re the joker in your family, now is your chance to put…

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Refugee Council and Help for Heroes write to Immigration Minister

August 14, 2023

Enver Solomon and James Needham, the CEOs of the Refugee Council and veterans’ charity Help for Heroes, have jointly written to the Immigration Minister, Robert Jenrick, calling on the Home Office to put in place a system to reunite Afghan families separated during the UK government’s evacuation effort, Operation Pitting.  Afghans who were evacuated without…

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Primary school pupils write to their MPs

March 20, 2023

Children at primary schools in the West Midlands and the North West sent Mother’s Day cards to their MPs this week calling on the government to change the Immigration Rules so that refugee children can safely reunite with their parents in the UK. At St Dunstan’s primary school in Birmingham, more than 150 mums, grandmas…

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100 charities call on government to reunite Afghan families

January 17, 2023

More than 100 charities and activists have signed a letter calling on the prime minister to facilitate the resettlement of family members of thousands of Afghans evacuated to the UK. The letter was coordinated by Safe Passage, in partnership with the Families Together coalition and the Refugee Council.  Beth Gardiner-Smith, the chief executive of Safe…

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Archbishop of Canterbury calls for expansion of family reunion

December 30, 2022

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby led a debate in the House of Lords on 9th December on the principles that should underpin our asylum system in the UK. Read our briefing. The Archbishop highlighted the importance of expanding family reunion as a safe route to the UK.  His comments were echoed by the Bishops of…

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Coalition reaction to latest changes to the Immigration Rules on Family Reunion

August 3, 2022

The Government’s Nationality and Borders Act makes significant changes to refugee family reunion. On 6th July, the Families Together coalition brought together more than 50 family reunion practitioners to consider the impact of the changes. The key change introduced by the Act is ‘differential treatment’, where family reunion rights are now linked to the way…

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Family Reunion Bill passes its second reading in the House of Lords

July 8, 2022

On Friday 8th July, the Family Reunion Bill passed its second reading the House of Lords. If enacted, the Bill would allow refugee children to sponsor their parents and siblings to join them in safety in the UK. It would also allow adult refugees to sponsor a greater range of family members and reintroduce legal…

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Coalition members call for government to reunite Afghan families

June 28, 2022

A letter signed by coalition members was published in The Times on Saturday 25th June calling for the government to enable Afghan evacuees to reunite with their family members. The letter was signed by: Enver Solomon, CEO, Refugee Council Mike Adamson, chief executive, British Red Cross Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, chief executive, Oxfam GB Sacha Deshmukh,…

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