REFUGEES will be stripped of their automatic right to bring over family members under harsh new immigration rules unveiled by Labour.
Keir Starmer will officially announce that people who have fled war and persecution will no longer be entitled to family reunion.
Applications for refugee family reunion were paused at the beginning of last month and the UK Government has now announced the avenue will be permanently closed.
It forms part of a broader attack on the rights of immigrants from Labour in recent days, with the Home Secretary earlier this week announcing that the rules to apply for indefinite leave to remain would become much stricter.
People who wish to apply for permanently settled status will now need to prove they are employed and paying a certain amount in National Insurance contributions and not on benefits.
They must also demonstrate that they have a high standard of English, a clean criminal record and that they volunteer in their communities.
Currently, people who have had their asylum claims approved and are granted refugee status have to wait five years before applying for indefinite leave to remain but this is to be lengthened.
The UK Government said that fuller details would be set out in a statement in the autumn.
Elsewhere, ministers are planning to introduce digital IDs, which they claim will prevent immigrants from working illegally in the UK.
Speaking ahead of his announcement at the European Political Community Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark on Thursday, Starmer said: “I believe that if you want to come to the UK, you should contribute to our society. That is the tolerant and fair approach to migration that our communities are built on, but the current system is not fit for purpose.
“That is why we’re making fundamental changes to what those granted asylum are afforded in the UK. Settlement must be earned by contributing to our country, not by paying a people smuggler to cross the channel in a boat.
“The UK will continue to play its role in welcoming genuine refugees fleeing persecution. But we must also address the pull factors driving dangerous and illegal small boats crossings. There will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK, people will have to earn it.”
The Scottish Greens have accused the Prime Minister of an "abhorrent attack" on refugees and families, saying the policy comes "straight off the far right’s wish list".
Justice spokesperson for the party, Maggie Chapman MSP (above), said: "This is an abhorrent attack on refugees and families.
“Labour’s migration policies have been lifted from the far-right’s wish list. Every time you think they’ve hit rock bottom they somehow manage to get even worse, even more racist.
“Keir Starmer was a human rights lawyer. He knows that this is a clear attack on families, on rights, and on basic human dignity. He knows exactly what he is doing and it is shameful that he is happy to make refugees suffer to try and win favourable headlines from the right wing press.
“None of this is about improving the system. It is a blatantly transparent and shameful attempt to look even more repressive and bigoted than Reform and should be rejected along with their proposed changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain and their hated 'Britcard' ID project.
“There will eventually come a time when even Labour ministers are ashamed of the pain and anxiety that they are putting people through to try and win votes. Did they really get into politics to split apart families and force desperate people to endure even more misery?
“It is time for all Labour MPs and MSPs who oppose this kind of inhumanity to call their leader out and take a stand against the nasty policies that their government is inflicting.”
