The Justice and Home Affairs Committee invites written
contributions to its inquiry into family migration.
The inquiry will approach family migration policies in the widest
possible sense, including the general trends in the design of
family immigration pathways, how migration policies affect
families, and how family migration policies affect society.
The inquiry primarily relates to the UK context. The Committee,
however, is interested in international comparisons and will
explore foreign family migration policies that could inform its
consideration of UK policies.
Topics the committee is seeking evidence on include:
- The design of family migration law (mainstream immigration
pathways as well as bespoke immigration schemes), especially any
discrepancies in the family reunion rights granted to applicants
depending on their immigration pathway
- How families are affected by migration policies, including
the experience of children being separated from parents or
relatives, the enforcement of the right to respect for family and
private life, and financial matters
- How family migration policies affect society, including
public services, local authorities, the public purse, and the
economy
The committee invites interested individuals and organisations to
submit written evidence by 15 September.
Chair’s comments
, Chair of the Committee,
said:
“The UK’s mainstream immigration pathways may result in family
separation: British children who cannot grow up with their
foreign parent, British citizens who cannot live with their
foreign partners, child refugees who cannot reunite with parents,
or adults who cannot look after dependent parents. These rules,
introduced ten years ago, apply to the immigration of EU
nationals since March this year.
Various bespoke immigration schemes have been introduced in
response to recent geopolitical events – Syria, Afghanistan, Hong
Kong, Ukraine, among others – and each provide different family
reunion rules, separating families in different ways depending on
their country of nationality.
The Justice and Home Affairs Committee is launching an inquiry
into family migration and rules relating to the reunion of
divided families. We will consider the inconsistencies between
various migration policies affecting families, as well as how
family migration policies affect society. We encourage anyone
with experience or expertise in this subject to share their views
with the Committee.”
