- Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced the suspension of all new applications under the refugee family reunion route to clear the asylum seeker backlog and reduce Channel crossings.
- Refugees will now apply through the standard family migration scheme, requiring a minimum joint income of £29,000 per year for their foreign partner to join them.
- Ms Cooper also said that a new independent body will speed up asylum appeals and the first returns of small boat arrivals under the deal with France will begin this month.
- Refugee charities condemned the changes, warning they would force more vulnerable people, particularly women and children, into the hands of smugglers by closing one of the few safe routes.
- Further reforms to family reunion are expected by spring, alongside changes to how Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is interpreted in court cases involving illegal migrants.
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