Migration policies harming families and society, says Lords Committee advised by University of Exeter expert

The Government stresses the importance of family life, but families are failed by the Home Office’s migration policies and practice, which also undermine society, according to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee. 

Professor Helena Wray, from the University of Exeter, was the specialist adviser to the committee during the inquiry which led to their report, ‘All families matter: An inquiry into family migration’.

In the report the committee says that current migration rules are at odds with the Government’s commitment to family life. Overly restrictive and complex, they force family members to live apart. The Home Office sees separation as a matter of choice and regards online contact as adequate. The committee profoundly disagrees. 

The arrival of spouses and partners of British citizens is deterred or delayed by overly complex rules and financial requirements. Parents are forced to bring up children alone, until they can be joined by their foreign partners. Children grow up without a parent. Families are effectively banned from being joined in the UK by elderly parents from overseas for whom they are desperate to care. Child refugees cannot be joined by any relatives. When questioned by the committee, the Home Secretary defended the policy. 

The restrictive rules affect British citizens, refugees and permanent residents, including children born in the UK and adult citizens who have never lived in another country, but have family members of a different nationality.  Family migration rules now apply in circumstances where, before Brexit, there was free movement. Many European citizens and their families, and British citizens with European relatives, are now affected. 

The Home Office is systematically deficient in its processing of family visa applications. Delays pile up, communication is appallingly poor, evidential requirements for how you prove your case are excessively complex and fees are prohibitive. People are left distraught.        

Modern families are often extended or blended, for instance including step-parents. It should be recognised that they do not always follow the nuclear model.   

The Prime Minister has recently said that ‘strong, supportive families make for stable communities’. Failing families means failing society too. Essential skills are lost when people feel they have no alternative but to leave the UK, and some people may not come in the first place. The committee heard that health services are particularly affected. 

An individual’s contribution to the economy is weakened when a partner or parent is not allowed into the country to help raise children. In extreme cases, migration policies force families into destitution, making them reliant on the state. The Home Secretary told the committee that the policies strike the right balance between respecting family life and protecting societal interests. The committee recognises that strict criteria and vetting of applications is necessary; public support demands it. It believes, however, that policies that respect family life also benefit society. 

A child’s best interests, which generally mean being with family, should be at the heart of family migration policies, in the committee’s view. It found that there is much to be learnt from family law when it comes to protecting children in immigration matters. 

The committee concluded that humanity and decency should be at the heart of rights-based family migration policies, and that there is considerable scope for the Home Office to simplify complex rules and improve its standards for processing applications. The interests of both families and society would be served by this. 

The report can be read here: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/519/justice-and-home-affairs-committee/news/186349