Isles MP fights for refugee families

The issue of reuniting refugee families was brought back to the House of Commons last Thursday June 21 when Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP Angus MacNeil led a backbench debate on his Refugees (Family Reunion) Bill.

Mr MacNeil said: ‘Under Home Office rules, adults with refugee status in the UK are able to sponsor their spouses/partners and their children under 18 to join them. It’s hard to imagine just how much joy and relief must come at that moment of reunion. But the restrictive nature of those rules, and the limited definition of family contained within them, leaves many unable to experience that joy. Children over 18 are not covered, nor are elderly parents or nieces and nephews. How many parents think their children stop needing them just because they’ve turned 18?

‘The UK does not allow refugee children any family reunion rights at all, the only country within the EU to do so. Children who have been recognised by the government as being in need of protection, and for whom it is not safe to return home, are not able to be joined by even their very closest relatives. Instead, children have to try to rebuild their lives in a new country without their parents to support them.’

The Bill is supported by MPs from across the House of Commons, as well as the Refugee Council, British Red Cross, Amnesty International, Oxfam GB and UNHCR.