UK pauses refugee family-reunion bids – with a 2029 deadline to end asylum hotels

A symbolic “border” as the UK tightens family-reunion rules. Credit : DesignRage, Shutterstock The Home Office has paused new family-reunion applications from refugees while it rewrites the scheme. Officials say the route, created to reunite families split by war and persecution, has ballooned far faster than expected and is piling extra pressure on housing in parts of the country. During the pause, refugees who want to bring relatives to the UK must use the standard immigration routes, not the bespoke humanitarian one. Stricter criteria are coming, with ministers signalling higher financial thresholds and firmer English-language requirements, in line with wider...