(UK) — A group of claimants launched a High Court challenge to the UK government’s suspension of the refugee family reunion scheme after judges granted permission on February 20, 2026 for a judicial review to proceed.
The legal action targets the Home Secretary’s decision to pause the route that allows people recognised as refugees, or granted humanitarian protection, to reunite with close family members in the UK.
A full hearing is scheduled for May 2026, setting up a court test of whether the suspension decision was lawful and whether it was made in a way that complied with legal protections linked to family life.
In the UK’s judicial review process, “permission” does not decide the case. It is a threshold stage at which the court decides whether the claim is arguable enough to proceed to a full hearing, where judges consider the lawfulness of the decision being challenged.
For the claimants, the permission ruling means the court accepted there is a case to answer about the suspension itself, rather than ending the challenge at an early stage. For the government, it means the Home Office must now defend the decision in detailed legal argument.
The dispute traces back to September 4, 2025, when the UK government temporarily suspended new applications under the Refugee Family Reunion scheme. The announcement came with minimal notice and created a hard dividing line between applications that could still be filed and those that could not.
The government framed the move as a pause while it reviewed the scheme and prepared changes, saying the suspension would remain until spring 2026, when it plans to introduce stricter eligibility requirements.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper justified the pause by setting out a direction of travel for new rules that could include income thresholds, English language tests, and accommodation requirements.
An income threshold would add a financial test families must meet to qualify, shifting the focus from protection needs to earnings or resources. English language tests would introduce an additional condition applicants must satisfy before travel, while accommodation requirements would require families to show they have suitable housing in place.
The Home Office has also argued that the existing family reunion framework risks being exploited by criminal gangs to promote Channel crossings, tying the policy shift to the government’s wider effort to curb irregular migration across the Channel.
The suspension affects refugees and people with humanitarian protection who want to reunite with a spouse or partner and children under 18. That scope, focused on immediate family members, sits at the centre of the legal and political debate because it directly determines whether families separated by conflict and flight can live together in the UK.
The government’s own figures on outcomes under the route have been a focal point for critics of the pause. Approximately 92% of those granted visas through this scheme are women and children, a demographic profile that shapes the humanitarian impact of any delay or closure.
Operationally, the cut-off drew a stark distinction based on when papers were submitted. Applications filed before 3 PM on September 4, 2025 continue to be processed normally and are not affected by the suspension, but people who did not file by that point cannot submit new applications until the scheme reopens.
That has left some families in limbo, with the ability to apply depending not on the substance of their case but on whether they met a deadline that, according to campaigners, many people did not know about when it was announced.
The judicial review will focus on the suspension decision rather than the underlying family reunion rules as they existed before the pause. In judicial review, the High Court examines whether a decision was made lawfully, rationally, and fairly, including whether the decision-maker followed proper process and took account of legally relevant considerations.
In this case, the claimants’ legal arguments centre on whether the suspension complies with international obligations and UK law protecting family life. The dispute therefore sits at the intersection of domestic public law principles and wider protections that apply when government decisions interfere with family unity.
The case also follows earlier litigation that addressed a different target. A previous High Court case, DM v Secretary of State, in October 2025 dismissed challenges to the underlying family reunion rules, but the current action contests the suspension itself on different grounds.
That distinction matters because it shapes what the High Court will be asked to decide. The October 2025 case dealt with the content of the rules, while the new challenge asks whether the Home Secretary acted lawfully in shutting the route to new applications while promising reforms.
The High Court’s options at the end of the judicial review process typically include upholding the decision, or quashing it and requiring the government to reconsider. The court can also remit the matter to the decision-maker to take a fresh decision in line with the law, depending on what it finds about the legality of the suspension.
The case is being crowdfunded, with organisers seeking to raise £75,000 to cover legal costs. The fundraising effort underlines the way some immigration and asylum challenges in the UK rely on public donations to meet the costs of bringing complex litigation to the High Court.
Permission was granted to a group of claimants, meaning the challenge is proceeding with claimants who have been accepted by the court as entitled to bring the case. The proceedings now move into a more intensive phase, including the preparation of evidence and legal arguments ahead of the May 2026 hearing.
In practical terms, the next steps will include hearing preparation and any interim applications the parties choose to pursue before the full hearing window. Public attention will also focus on any Home Office statements on reopening the scheme, and on details of any replacement rules the government plans to introduce around spring 2026.
For families who can no longer file, the timing of any reopening remains central. The government has said it intends to keep the pause in place until spring 2026, but the High Court challenge means the lawfulness of the suspension will be scrutinised before the planned reform package is due to arrive.
While the court process runs, the split created by the cut-off continues to shape outcomes. People who submitted before the deadline remain in the system with applications continuing through normal processing, while those who missed it remain unable to apply at all under the suspended route.
At stake is how the UK balances a stated desire to tighten eligibility requirements with legal duties that may be engaged when decisions affect family life for refugees and people with humanitarian protection. The High Court proceedings will test whether the government’s approach to pausing the refugee family reunion scheme met the legal standards that apply when ministers change how families can reunite in the UK.
High Court Hears Challenge to UK Suspension of Refugee Family Reunions
The UK High Court will hear a challenge against the government’s September 2025 suspension of the refugee family reunion scheme. While the Home Office plans to introduce stricter criteria by 2026, claimants argue the pause unlawfully disrupts family unity, particularly affecting women and children. The May 2026 hearing will scrutinize whether the suspension met legal standards and international obligations regarding the right to family life.
