SNP MP Patrick Grady has ramped up calls for the Tory Government to urgently reform refugee family reunion rules.
He urged the Tories to ensure that vulnerable people and refugees with close relatives in the UK have safe and legal pathways to reunite with them.
The Glasgow North MP will present a petition in the House of Commons this evening calling on the UK Government to expand the criteria of who qualifies as a family member, give unaccompanied refugee children in the UK the right to sponsor their parents and siblings that are under the age of 25 to join them under the refugee family reunion rules, and reintroduce legal aid for refugee family reunion cases.
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Under current family reunion rules, adult refugees can sponsor only their very closest relatives to join them – their partners and children under 18 years old.
Child refugees in the UK have no family reunion rights to allow them to bring their parents – leaving many of them vulnerable and at risk.
Commenting, Patrick Grady MP said: “This petition to make a simple change to the Refugee Family Reunion rules is not a party political issue, but a humanitarian one. It puts compassion first and seeks to bring to an end the callous approach of this Tory Government which has kept refugee children away from their parents, siblings and wider family.
“There is grassroots support across the country for these changes, and the Student Action for Refugees Network at Glasgow University have done a great job collecting hundreds of signatures to be added to the thousands collected by groups across the country, keeping pressure up on the Tories to end their hostile environment.
“The right to live safely with family should apply to child refugees just as it does to adults. It is high time the Government put the best interests of child refugees first and allow them family reunion rights.”
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