Reuniting Refugees with
Family Reunion Applications
Family Reunion is an immigration route that allows refugees in the UK to reunite with close family members, helping to restore stability and rebuild lives after displacement. This pathway recognises the importance of family support in overcoming the trauma of conflict and persecution. At Leonard Solicitors, our experienced Immigration Solicitors are here to guide you through the process, ensuring a smooth and compassionate approach to reuniting families.
“Leonard solicitors are the best. I used their services for many years and they never let me down. Specifically, Lee Ann Harvey always has good news because she is professional and a perfectionist.”
Helping Refugees Reunite with Family Members
If you have been granted asylum in the UK or have obtained settlement on protection grounds, you may be eligible to bring certain family members to the UK under the Family Reunion route. We understand that achieving refugee status is an important milestone, and being reunited with your loved ones is a vital step toward rebuilding your life. Our experienced team regularly assists clients in reuniting with their families following a successful asylum claim, and we welcome the opportunity to support new clients seeking to navigate this process.
To ensure your application is successful, we will need to work on satisfying the legal criteria. The most significant part is to prove that the family members you wish to bring formed at least part of your family unit before you fled the country. In these cases, only spouses or civil partners and children under the age of 18 are eligible for family reunion. However, in some circumstances other family members may be eligible. Whilst the application itself is a relatively simple process, it is important that the correct proof is submitted as evidence. Incorrect evidence can lead to a lengthy appeal process. We help our clients with their applications so that they have the best chance of success, first time.
A case built around you
The angle we take on your application for family reunion will depend on your current immigration status and whether your family are in the UK or abroad. For example, if you came to the UK to claim asylum with your family members, we can include their details as dependant family members within your asylum claim. Should your asylum claim be successful, your family members may be granted ‘leave in line’ which is permission to be in the UK for the same period of time as yourself.
In most cases however, individuals claiming asylum will have fled their country without their family members or may have lost them on the journey to the UK. If your family members are not in the UK, you will need to have leave to remain status for them to join you.
We will also need to consider the circumstances of your family members, and whether they fall under pre-flight or post-flight family. There are separate rules for each but mainly they are mainly concerned with whether these family members formed part of your family unit before or after you fled the country.
Our expert Immigration Lawyers can support you with your case, exploring yours and your family’s circumstances so that we can deliver bespoke advice on reuniting you with your family. If you instruct us, we will help you gather all the necessary documents and submit your family reunion application on your behalf.
FAQ’s
Who are pre-flight and post-flight family?
Pre-flight family members are those who formed part of your family unit before you fled the country and are defined as your:
- spouse or civil partner
- unmarried or same sex partner
- children under the age of 18 years
- children of close relatives
Post-flight family members are those who did not form part of your immediate family unit before you fled the country and are defined as your:
- children conceived after you fled the country
- adult dependants
- child siblings, nieces, and nephews
How long is the application process for Family Reunion?
This often depends on the circumstances of your family members and whether there is any additional information required. However, the Home Office should reach a decision on your application within 6 months.
