LONDON: Refugees trying to escape Gaza, Sudan and Afghanistan and join family members in the UK are in limbo between government bureaucracy and a lack of biometric processing facilities.
As part of the family reunification visa application process, applicants must submit biometric information, usually including a fingerprint, at centers in the countries from which they apply.
But such centers often either do not exist in war-torn areas or the facilities are not available to gather the information. This means applicants must either complete the biometric processing once in the UK or be excused from the biometric process entirely.
Figures published by The Guardian on Saturday, however, show that just a handful of these deferrals or exemptions have been granted by the UK.
As of May 2024, 114 people had requested to have their applications âpre-determinedâ by delaying the submission of biometric data until reaching the UK. Another 84 people had requested to be excused from providing biometric information altogether. By February 2024, just eight predetermination cases and one excusal had been authorized.
The highest number of the requests came from Palestinians and those in Afghanistan and Sudan, where visa application centers have been forced to close due to conflict.
Members of parliament and charities have accused the Home Office of blocking people such in areas from joining their families in the UK.
They compared it to the situation in Ukraine, where people can apply for family reunification visas in the UK without submitting biometrics beforehand.
âThe UK rightly welcomed Ukrainian refugees fleeing war. Why canât the same compassion be shown to people from Gaza and elsewhere?â a coalition of independent MPs, including former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, told The Guardian.
Nick Beales, head of campaigns at the charity RAMFEL, which helps vulnerable migrants access justice, said: âThis disclosure proves that it was actually impossible for people in conflict zones, such as Sudan and Gaza, to apply for visas even when they had clear family ties in the UK.â
A Home Office spokesperson told The Guardian they understood applicants may face challenging circumstances to reach a visa application center to submit biometrics, saying: âThat is why individuals have the option to submit a biometric deferral request, which is assessed on its own merits, and exceptional circumstances are considered.â