Cooper halts refugee family reunion scheme, sparking claims it forces children into smugglers hands

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has been accused of endangering vulnerable children by suspending the UK’s refugee family reunion scheme. Critics warn the decision will leave young people at the mercy of people smugglers and cut off one of the few safe legal routes to Britain.

Cooper told MPs on Monday that the scheme, which allows recognised refugees to bring close family to the UK, had become a target for abuse by criminal gangs. She said people smugglers were exploiting the system to encourage Channel crossings and claimed local authorities were under mounting strain.

“We need to address the immediate pressures on councils and the risks from criminal gangs using family reunion as a pull factor,” she said. “Therefore we are bringing forward new immigration rules this week to temporarily suspend new applications under the existing dedicated refugee family reunion route. Until the new framework is introduced, refugees will be covered by the same family migration rules and conditions as everyone else.”

The change means recognised refugees must now apply under the same family migration rules as UK citizens. That route requires proof of a joint income of at least £29,000 a year to bring a spouse or partner, making it all but impossible for many refugees.

Campaigners reacted with alarm. Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Until now, family reunion has been one of the only safe and legal routes available that allows refugees fleeing war and persecution to be reunited with their partner and children. Far from stopping people taking dangerous journeys, these changes will only push more desperate people into the arms of smugglers.”

Others accused Cooper of hypocrisy, pointing out she herself told MPs in 2021 that limiting family reunion would drive people towards criminal gangs.

Gunes Kalkan of the children’s charity Safe Passage warned of “disastrous consequences” for unaccompanied minors. “We’re talking about children from conflict and high human rights abuse areas, such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Iran, who have been torn apart from family in the chaos,” he said.

Mubeen Bhutta, policy director at the British Red Cross, said: “Today’s announcement will separate families and cut off one of the only safe and managed routes for children to seek protection. The vast majority of people who use family reunion visas are children and women, often trapped in very dangerous situations.”

Home Office data shows there were 20,817 family reunion visas issued in the year to June 2025, 93% to women and children. More than half were to nationals of Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan.

Cooper suggested the future scheme could mirror those in Denmark and Switzerland, where refugees must wait two years before applying for family reunion. She also outlined wider immigration reforms: new rules to be debated next month, the first returns of rejected asylum seekers to France under a “one in, one out” deal, and a new independent body to handle appeals.

The announcement comes as Labour faces mounting pressure over migration. Prime minister Keir Starmer reiterated his pledge to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of the parliament, saying he hoped to accelerate that timeline. “It is a good challenge,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

But opposition MPs warned Labour was pandering to anti-immigration rhetoric. SNP MP Pete Wishart accused Cooper of “moving on to Reform UK’s ground” and emboldening the right.

The International Rescue Committee, led in the UK by Flora Alexander, called the suspension “deeply alarming”. She said narrowing access to family reunion “risks pushing more people toward dangerous journeys and represents a step away from compassion and common sense.”

Cooper insisted her approach was about restoring control. “The public wants the asylum system to be properly managed,” she told MPs. But with warnings from charities and campaigners ringing out, the government faces fierce scrutiny over whether its new stance will protect Britain’s borders at the expense of refugee children