A letter to the Home secretary: Keep a legal route to refugee family reunion open after Brexit

Together with other refugee charities working in Northern France, we have written to the Home Office requesting that a legal route to safety for child refugees in Europe seeking to reunite with family in the UK remains open after Brexit. Without this legal route to safety thousands of children will be put at risk and will be forced to make dangerous journeys.

The letter was as follows…

Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department

2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
United Kingdom

Dear Secretary of State,

RE: Meeting request on the impact of a no-deal Brexit on child refugee family reunion

We are writing to kindly request a meeting to discuss the consequences of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit for unaccompanied child refugees.

As leading charities working with refugees in Europe, including providing direct assistance to reunite children with their families in the UK, we are extremely concerned about the impact the UK leaving the EU without a deal could have on unaccompanied child refugees who have family here in Britain.

As we understand it, if the UK exits the EU without a deal on 31 October, and without action from the UK Government, the EU regulation under which children can currently safely and legally join family in the UK [known as ‘Dublin III’] will no longer apply with immediate effect. We are deeply concerned about the impact this may have on children waiting to reunite with family members in the UK.

In the last 3 years, the UK government has helped reunite around 1,000 unaccompanied children with family members in the UK using Dublin III or the expedited process set up in 2016. Family reunion offers children a safe and legal route to restart their childhoods and rebuild their lives, cared for and protected by their loved ones.

We welcome that, under Statutory Instrument, No. 745 2019 (SI 745) take charge requests already submitted to the UK prior to our exit from the EU will be processed. However, for those children who do not have an application already ‘in the system’ by the time of Brexit, the consequences could be catastrophic without concerted action now.

We know from bitter experience then when children cannot access safe and legal routes to sanctuary, they are more likely to attempt dangerous and irregular crossings. We are deeply concerned that this may be an unintended consequence of a no-deal Brexit.

We note that that the House of Lords EU Committee has written to you regarding this matter and has recommended that the UK and EU “negotiate an interim agreement in a no deal scenario [with] a temporary extension of the current [Dublin Family Reunion] arrangements the most feasible option.”

We support the Committee’s recommendations, and urge you to provide certainty now for children and families who may be left in limbo after October 31st by:

• Extending the current arrangements and confirm that the family reunion provisions of the Dublin III Regulation (and the Implementing Regulations) will continue to apply under domestic law for cases where a Take Charge Request is made either before or after October 31st; in practice this would mean EU Member States can request that the UK take charge of relevant asylum applicants who meet the conditions of the relevant provisions – ensuring that on day one of the UK’s departure, children continue have access to the family reunification process. 

• Taking pro-active action in advance of a no-deal scenario to prevent a catastrophic outcome for unaccompanied children, by working with European partners to identify children with a right to family reunion in the UK and ensure procedures are in place to enable their swift transfer;  

• Clarifying that the UK will follow the Dublin process for any applications considered under the Statutory Instrument (No. 745 2019), ensuring in particular that the time-frames set out are adhered to and there is a right to appeal a negative decision in the normal way; so ensuring children aren’t waiting months or years to reunite with family. On this point we are concerned by the response from Brandon Lewis MP, dated 10 September 2019 to Lord Jay referring to ‘…an agreed eleven-month process…’ The correct position is that there are mandatory long-stop time limits for each stage of the Dublin III process which cumulatively only reach 11 months if the maximum timeframe is used for each stage. It is accepted on all sides, including by the courts, that swifter reunification for children is needed to protect their welfare and their rights.   

Establishing a process to facilitate family reunion in the event of a no-deal Brexit will require co-operation from the UK’s European partners. This should not pose an obstacle, and there is a precedent that can be followed. You will recall that during the demolition of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp, the Home Office worked swiftly with the French Authorities to set up ‘ad hoc’ processes that mirrored Dublin III family reunion. Proactive measures were put in place to identify and expedite the cases of children with a legal right to reunite with their family in the UK resulting in 550 children being brought to safety after many months spent at risk in Northern France. This process was set up in a matter of weeks.

Given the present situation in Northern France and in Greece where over 1,100 unaccompanied children are in urgent need of shelter, we would expect there to be goodwill from Member States to cooperate with the UK in ensuring this route was not closed in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

If Dublin III is no longer available following a no-deal departure, you will be aware that there is a legal precedent - the Court of Appeal judgment in ZAT - that would likely guide the approach of individuals seeking family reunion in the UK. We hope however that children seeking swift reunion with their families will not be forced to use this option as a result of the failure of the UK government to establish an adequate process. 

Whilst we are also advocating within other EU Member States, we would urge the UK to demonstrate the leadership needed on this issue and commit to doing everything possible to protect these children. No child should have to risk their lives to join family.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,

Beth Gardiner-Smith - CEO, Safe Passage International

Léa Guillouard - Advocacy and Administrative Coordinator, Refugee Women's Centre

Josie Naughton - CEO, Help Refugees

Marta Welander - CEO, Refugee Rights Europe

Jonny Wills - CEO, Refugee Youth Service

CC’ed to Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP (Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee)

The Lord Jay of Ewelme GCMG (Chair of EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee)