0h 14min, sep 1, 2025 y - Suspension of Family Reunion Applications

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The government is temporarily suspending new applications for a scheme allowing refugees to bring their family members to the UK.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the move, in force from this week, would mean refugees face the same restrictions as other migrants hoping to bring family to join them in the UK.

This generally means someone must earn at least £29,000 a year and provide suitable accommodation, while their family member may need to demonstrate a basic level of English.

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said "tweaking the family reunion rules are not enough" to deal with the scale of the UK's "border security crisis".

It comes on the day Parliament returned after a summer dominated by criticism over the use of hotels for migrants arriving on small boats.

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