No new application can be made under the dedicated route following its closure at 3:00pm on 4 September 2025.

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Applications submitted before the closure continue to be decided under the rules in force at that time.

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Partners and children seeking to join a sponsor with protection status after the closure must instead be assessed under the current family routes. These routes have different application fees, financial, accommodation, English-language and evidential requirements.

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At a glance

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• New Appendix FRP application: Not currently available.

• Application submitted before 3:00pm on 4 September 2025: Continues to be considered under the pre-closure rules.

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• Partner or child of a protection sponsor applying now: May need to apply under Appendix FM if the applicable requirements can be met.

• Child joining a close relative with protection status: May qualify under Appendix Child Relative (Sponsors with Protection) where the relevant serious and compelling circumstances requirements are met.

• Other adult relative: May require assessment under the Adult Dependent Relative route or, in exceptional circumstances, Article 8.

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PRE-CLOSURE APPLICATIONS

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• The former Appendix FRP route primarily covered a pre-flight partner or child who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor left their country of habitual residence to seek protection.

• A partner could be a spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership lasting at least two years.

• Children were normally under 18, although exceptional circumstances could be considered for an older dependent child.

• This information is relevant only to applications validly submitted before the route closed. It must not be presented as a route under which a new application can now be made.

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POSSIBLE ROUTES FOR APPLICATIONS MADE NOW

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• Partner or child under Appendix FM

• A person with protection status can be an eligible sponsor under Appendix FM.

• A partner or child may therefore apply under the normal family route, subject to the relevant relationship, financial, accommodation, English-language, suitability and evidential requirements.

• Government application fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge normally apply, although a fee waiver may be available in qualifying circumstances.

• Where the protection sponsor claimed asylum after 2 March 2026 and holds a shorter period of permission, the family member’s permission may end on the same date as the sponsor’s permission.

• Child Relative (Sponsors with Protection)

• Appendix Child Relative (Sponsors with Protection) may apply to a child under 18 who wishes to join a close relative with protection status who is not settled in the UK.

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A qualifying close relative can include:

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• A grandparent.

• An adult brother or sister.

• A step-parent.

• A qualifying uncle.

• A qualifying aunt.

• The child must have an existing, genuine family relationship with the sponsor.

• The child must normally have no family other than the UK sponsor who could reasonably be expected to support or care for them.

• Adequate maintenance and accommodation are also required.

• Adult Dependent Relative or Article 8

• An adult parent, grandparent, sibling or adult child who needs long-term personal care may require assessment under the Adult Dependent Relative route.

• Other cases may raise Article 8 family-life considerations. However, the existence of a family relationship alone does not establish that Article 8 is engaged or that an application will be successful.

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EVIDENCE MAY INCLUDE

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• The sponsor’s protection decision and current eVisa or immigration-status evidence.

• Passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates or civil-partnership records establishing the family relationships.

• Evidence of the family relationship before and after separation.

• Communication records, financial support and evidence of attempts to maintain family life.

• For Appendix FM, the required financial, accommodation and English-language evidence.

• For Appendix Child Relative, evidence that no other family member can reasonably support or care for the child.

• Care, safeguarding, maintenance and accommodation evidence.

• Evidence of urgency, vulnerability, medical issues or exceptional circumstances where relevant.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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• Can a new refugee family reunion application be made now?

• No. A new application cannot currently be made under Appendix Family Reunion. The family must be assessed under an alternative route, such as Appendix FM, Appendix Child Relative or Adult Dependent Relative, depending on the relationship and circumstances.

• What happens to an application submitted before the closure?

• An application validly made before 3:00pm on 4 September 2025 remains valid and should be considered under the rules in force at that time.

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Are the alternative routes free?

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• Not generally. Applications under Appendix FM, Appendix Child Relative and Adult Dependent Relative normally involve application fees and, where applicable, the Immigration Health Surcharge. Fee-waiver provisions may be available in qualifying cases.

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