Home Office accused of ‘blocking’ people stuck in war zones from joining family in UK
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FoI figures show Home Office apparently refusing to use biometrics waiver for people who have no way to submit them. The UK government’s family reunification policy has been criticised by charities and MPs after new data revealed how Home Office bureaucracy was making it impossible for people stranded in war zones, such as Gaza and Sudan, to reunite with family members in the UK.
Existing policy is supposed to allow those in need of resettlement the opportunity to join relatives in the UK. In order to apply for family reunion visas, applicants must submit biometrics – usually a fingerprint and a photograph – at appointments at a visa application centre (VAC) in their country of residence.
But in Palestine, Sudan and Afghanistan, VACs have been forced to close by the ongoing conflicts that have killed tens of thousands of civilians and upended millions of lives. The need for a biometric submission can be waived by the Home Office, but figures seen by the Guardian, revealed through Freedom of Information requests, show that only a small number of people who submitted applications to join family in the UK were granted biometric excusals.
It means people seeking to apply for resettlement are forced to attempt dangerous and often illegal journeys across borders into neighbouring countries to reach VACs, which charities say is putting individuals at risk of exploitation and abuse. The process has been described as not fit for purpose by MPs who have highlighted the disparate and complex approach to resettlement of people in the Middle East and Sudan, compared with the relatively straightforward way in which Ukrainians could apply to travel to the UK after Russia’s invasion in 2022.The figures show that from May 2023 to February 2024 only 15 predetermination cases – when the result of an application is decided before biometrics are submitted – were authorised.
