Not affordable – balancing debt and dependants > Documentation complexities arose frequently As previously mentioned, refugee family reunion during the application process. Legal advisers play was taken out of legal aid scope in 2013 in England an essential role in identifying alternative evidence and Wales. From the sample used in our research that can support an application, while caseworkers report, Not so straightforward, 10 per cent (nine) are pivotal in co-ordinating and obtaining such of family reunion sponsors were in low-wage evidence. employment and 77 per cent (70) received some kind of benefit. While the majority received > Essential documentation may be unavailable for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), the second highest a variety of reasons, including the nature of flight benefit received was Employment Support Allowance. and the environments from which sponsors and applicants originate. Legal advisers play a critical As well as receiving limited income, 32 per cent role in helping to explain this in cover letters to of sponsors reported sending remittances to their applications and in identifying alternative evidence. families abroad for whom applications were being submitted. Remittances are a crucial, and often the > Some documentation, such as IDs or only, means by which primary caretakers or heads communications records via text messaging and of household can continue to support their families email, require legal advisers to qualify what is abroad. In the case of JSA, for example, this means sufficient and effective for an application. dividing a limited income of around £70 per week > Applications involving adoption, de facto among, on average, 3.5 people. This includes adoption, stepchildren and siblings are inherently paying for food and other essentials, housing and complex. They require legal advice in determining even schooling for children. It may also include the eligibility of the applications, support in phone services. documentation gathering, and reference to Crucially, refugee family reunion applications require precedent and existing policy and guidance. that sponsors demonstrate a ‘subsisting relationship’ with their partners and that their children are not considered to live an ‘independent life’. Financial Under EU regulations, the Dublin III Regulation support is one way of demonstrating this. provides a mechanism for unaccompanied minors within the EU to reunite with relatives in the UK. All of the people interviewed for Not so straightforward However, this has often proved complex and would have been eligible for legal aid. The costs are inaccessible, despite family members – including prohibitive and an obstacle to protection. unaccompanied minors – having a clear legal right to In addition, and as the UNHCR have noted, the UK be reunited in other member states. Government does not finance travel assistance for It has taken immense effort from law firms in the UK, people granted family reunion. Unlike people who are and from organisations like Citizens UK, to secure resettled, those who are granted family reunion visas ‘take charge’ requests for minors in Calais who have must finance their own travel. If they cannot afford it, family in the UK. they have to find the money elsewhere. The British Red Cross provides travel assistance to as many families as we can, but the issuing of short-lived entry clearance for family reunion (30 days to enter the UK following granting of a visa) is putting additional financial strain on families. Some turn to loan sharks and amass significant debts. 15