Overview

This bill aims to make it easier for the family members of refugees and individuals granted humanitarian protection in the UK to join them. It mandates the government to change immigration rules to allow family reunification and ensures legal aid is available for related applications.

Description

The bill compels the Secretary of State to amend immigration rules within six months to enable family reunification for refugees and those with humanitarian protection. This includes:

• Eligibility: Family members include parents (if the refugee was under 18 when applying for protection), spouses/civil partners/unmarried partners, children (under 18 or over 18 but dependent), and siblings (under 18 or under 25 and either under 18 or unmarried when the refugee left their country).
• Secretary of State Discretion: The Secretary of State can extend eligibility to other individuals based on factors such as family unity, child's best interests, dependency, and wellbeing risk.
• Legal Aid: The bill adds refugee family reunion cases to the list of matters eligible for legal aid under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. This applies to England and Wales.
• Geographic Scope: Family reunion provisions apply across the UK, while legal aid is limited to England and Wales.

Government Spending

The bill will likely lead to increased government spending on legal aid for refugee family reunion cases. Precise figures are not provided in the bill text. There will also be administrative costs associated with changing immigration rules and processing applications.

Groups Affected

• Refugees and those with humanitarian protection: This bill directly benefits them by potentially allowing their family members to join them in the UK.
• Family members of refugees and those with humanitarian protection: This group will be significantly impacted, as their ability to join family in the UK will be either eased or expanded.
• Legal aid providers: They will see an increase in demand for their services in relation to refugee family reunion cases.
• UK Government: Will experience increased administrative costs and potentially increased spending on social welfare provisions.

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