More than 700 community faith leaders, including a number of prominent rabbis, have signed a letter addressed to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, about the proposed changes to refugee family reunion laws in the UK.
In September, the government suspended applications for the family reunion route for refugees, and new, stricter rules are expected to be put in place this spring. These may require applicants to meet financial thresholds in terms of income and to have a minimum level of English.
The letter says that “the current proposals – removing the right to family reunion for most refugees, narrowing the legal definition of ‘family’, and placing steep new barriers before those fleeing danger – represent a profound departure from values that have long shaped our national life and are deeply embedded in our faith traditions”.
Many of the signatories gathered outside Parliament on Wednesday with placards bearing the slogan, “Refugee families belong together”.
Among the signatories is Rabbi David Mason, executive director of HIAS+JCORE, an organisation which provides a Jewish voice on refugee and asylum issues in the UK, and which earlier this month organised its annual Refugee Shabbat.
Mason said: “There is nothing fair or compassionate about keeping families divided. The Jewish community understands this well. The Kindertransport saved thousands of lives, but it also left many children separated from their families. We need to learn the lessons of that lasting pain.”
He continued: “At a time of deepening division, the government must bring humanity and responsibility back into refugee policy. Reinstating family reunion rights would be a vital step and make a huge difference to people rebuilding their lives here.”
Other rabbis who have signed the letter include Rabbi Warren Elf MBE, co-chair of the Faith Network for Manchester; Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism UK; Rabbi Mark Solomon, chair of the Beit Din of Liberal Judaism; Rabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi, rabbi of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue; and Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah, emeritus rabbi of Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue.
The letter goes on to say that “family reunion is not a marginal element of refugee protection and resettlement; it is central to it.”
It continues: “For many refugees, the presence and safety of close family is essential for their stability, wellbeing and integration. For people of faith, family is foundational to human belonging, resilience, and hope. To further restrict safe routes for family reunion is to push desperate people toward the very smuggling networks we all wish to dismantle.”
It also mentions that Mahmood in 2017 urged the government to allow unaccompanied refugee children in the UK to be joined by their parents, quoting her as saying that “surely it would be far better for that child, and for the care system, to have their parents in the UK to support them”.
Another signatory, Rt Rev'd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, the Bishop of Chelmsford, said: “Refugees make up a very small proportion of immigrants to the UK and they are wrongly blamed for longstanding pressures on housing and public services, often by those who seek to sow division”.
Jo Cobley, CEO of Safe Passage International, said: “We urge the government to listen to these faith leaders from across the UK, who are simply calling for compassion for refugee families, by urging the government to protect family reunion.
“Without family reunion as a safe alternative, we fear more people will be pushed into dangerous journeys to reach loved ones.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Under this government’s reforms to create a fairer asylum system, family reunion will no longer be automatic. Those seeking to bring family members to the UK will need to meet stricter criteria.
“Those with protection status can still use other family routes to sponsor a partner and child to come to the UK.”
The Home Office described the situation before the pause as “unsustainable”. According to its figures, between 2015 and 2022, approximately 5,500 family reunion visas were granted each year, a number which rose to 20,876 in the year ending September 2025, the highest on record.
The spokesperson said that the government’s new approach “balances protection against persecution with control of our borders. It makes the system fairer, in line with our European allies, and reduces incentives for asylum seekers to travel illegally to the UK.”
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