I strongly support the principle of family
unity, but it is important to note that there are already legal routes for
families to be reunited safely that are not dependent on our EU membership. The
UK's family reunion policy is generous, granting over 23,000 family reunion
visas over the last five years, and I can assure you that the Government will
continue to reunite refugees with their immediate family.
The EU
Dublin Regulation determines the Member State with responsibility for assessing
an asylum claim. Under the Regulation unaccompanied children present in another
EU Member State can be transferred to the UK to have their asylum claim
assessed where they have a qualifying family member or relative legally present
and transfer is in their best interests. I do expect cooperation on asylum and
migration with our European partners to continue after the UK leaves the EU,
and will follow this topic with interest as the exact nature of this
cooperation becomes clear during the negotiations.
Britain has
a proud record of helping the most vulnerable who are fleeing conflict and
danger, and I know the Government is committed to upholding this fine
tradition. That is why its response to the migrant crisis has indeed been to
establish resettlement schemes from the refugee camps in the region. This
allows support to be targeted to the most vulnerable people affected by the
crisis, while not creating a strong incentive for refugees to undertake
dangerous journeys. By 2020, the UK will have resettled 20,000 refugees through
our Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, as well as a further 3,000
of the most vulnerable children and their families from the Middle East and
North Africa region under the Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Scheme.
