Claiming Asylum And Family Reunion

Refugees who fear persecution in their own countries can apply for political asylum in the UK. JK & Co Legal Consult in Tower Hamlets, London, provides professional legal assistance to asylum seekers.

Asylum is given under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. To be recognised as a refugee, you must have left your country and be unable to go back because you have a well-founded fear of persecution because of your:

• Race
• Religion
• Nationality
• Political opinion; or
• Membership of a particular group

Humanitarian Protection

If you do not qualify for recognition as a refugee but the Home Office thinks there are humanitarian or other reasons why you should be allowed to stay in the UK, you may be granted temporary permission to remain here.

Family Reunion For Asylum Seekers

People who flee to the UK to seek asylum can include their dependants in their application for asylum, if those dependants have travelled with them to the UK. However, the Home Office recognise that families can become fragmented in cases of asylum, depending on the speed and manner in which the person has fled.

If you are a recognised refugee or have been given humanitarian protection in the UK, the family programme reunion allows you to be reunited with your family members (that is, those who were part of your family unit before you fled).

Under the Immigration Rules, only your pre-existing family (husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried/same-sex partner, plus any children under 18 who formed part of the family unit when you fled to seek asylum) can apply to enter the UK under the family reunion programme. However, the Home Office may allow family reunion for other family members if there are compassionate reasons why their case should be considered outside the Immigration Rules.

Child Dependent Relatives

If you are a child (under the age of 18) and a relative of a person with limited leave to enter or remain in the UK as a refugee or beneficiary of humanitarian protection, you can apply for permission to remain in the UK (known as ‘leave to remain’).

If you are an adult dependent relative of someone in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection you can also apply to enter or remain in the UK.

A child relative of a person with limited leave to enter or remain as a refugee or beneficiary of humanitarian protection can apply to extend their stay if they:

• were previously granted leave to enter under this category;
• are not leading an independent life;
• are not married or in a civil partnership;
• have not formed an independent family unit; and
• are under the age of 18.