Can I bring my partners Syrian mum and sisters to the UK?

[BA25]

war has broken out, there village is surrounded. Is there any way I can bring them here to keep them safe? My partner is crying non stop. Can I sponsor them? The rules are so confusing.

Also the visit on the visa request doesn’t have to be for full 6 months. Ask for 2 months and the visa you get is still for 6 months. You’d have to book return flights showing 2 months once it’s gone through, but funds required would be based on a 2 month stay. And if the airline cancels the return flights because not safe, they still have the full 6 months in the U.K. as legal visitors.

I really doubt they’d be approving those visas right now. It would be blindingly obvious they’re not coming for a holiday.

May be a bit difficult to do all that if the place you live is surrounded by belidgerant forces like the op has said.

Surely the point is why should she need to be here? What is wrong with their home country?
Our country should be helping these other countries to have the resources for their citizens to live happily where they are, shouldn't they? Who is causing the chaos?

It’s not used just for holidays, visiting family- a family reunion, or other event is totally lawful. Maybe OP and partner can decide to get married in a month, weddings are good reasons for family to travel.

Wow, some smega covered dicks out in force tonight. People do not choose to live in war torn or war vulnerable countries. Have some empathy.

A lot of the documents needed for proof of funds can be downloaded to a phone and then you simply wait in a hotel near the consulate while the application is being processed.

Obviously no one can send in the SAS to do an extraction from their current location. They have to first flee to a spot with a bit of safety.

I’d aim a lot closer than the UK if they need to get to safety - Turkey?

I think you have to be on the right side (not sure which it is) of a civil war to get through the uk asylum rules, there’s only 13,000 or so Syrians from the current war here.

I'm not sure what their ability to access the internet would be at this juncture, but they would need to apply for a visa.

www.gov.uk/standard-visitor/apply-standard-visitor-visa

I’m not sure if there’s a special scheme in place for Syria at the moment, nothing showed up on Google immediately.

A special scheme such as that set up for refugees from Ukraine, you mean? No…there isn’t….

No scheme - Ukraine was invaded unprovoked by an enemy power, Syria’s doing a very long civil
war.

Big humanitarian difference.

That doesn't mean you can't be kind to someone asking for advice. I know you do want us immigrants in your country but decency doesn't cost much.
Oh and if the west does want us to be coming over it needs to address global inequality which the west continues to depend on. Child slaves in Congo mining rare earth so we can afford gadgets here. Coffee, tea, cocoa for which farmers are not paid a living wage. Continously meddling in the ME to get cheap only for eons. Refusing to make swift and meaning commitments on climate change that's devastating communities in SS Africa, Bangladesh and many others. So we will come. Because we too have a right to safe lives. Decent lives even. You will put up a million barriers but desperate, dying people will find ways.

Really sorry OP, but there is no legitimate route for Syrians to come to the UK for protection purposes and be sponsored in the way you describe. The only safe and legal routes for refugees are the Ukrainian visa, ARAP (the Afghan relocation and assistance policy) and the Hong Kong British National overseas route. It's awful and I'm sorry.

The UK previously had a programme called the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which brought in around 20,000 refugees to the UK but it was done in conjunction with the UNHCR, who identified vulnerable Syrians and referred them directly to the Home Office. It wasn't an open scheme like the ones above, and it closed in 2021. It was replaced with something called the UK Resettlement Scheme, but this is global, not just for Syrians, and it has only resulted in a tiny amount of people coming to the UK so far. It is also administered by the UNHCR (you need to register with them, but you can't 'apply' for it - they select people based on need) and you need to already be a recognised refugee. It's normally people who are particularly vulnerable or who have severe health needs who are referred.

Does your mother need long-term care to do everyday personal and household tasks because of illness, disability or age, and if so, can she prove it? There is something called a Family Visa but it has strict criteria, and you can only apply as the parent of an adult child if you need care as per above. You, as the child, must also have indefinite leave to remain, or protection status. It will cost several thousand, plus another £2–3k to use the NHS, and will probably take months but if it's a possibility the details are here: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

Really unlikely to be granted a standard visitor visa in the current circumstances.

I wish you both all the luck in the world.

Why did your DP leave his mother and sisters behind in a war zone?

Must have been very dangerous for them for a long time.

No, sorry

No it isn't.

Fwiw I think this will be over pretty quickly. Assad has fled. The rebels are advancing very quickly. If his relatives are not part of the Assad regime they are not likely to be of interest. Who knows whether what comes next will be better than the Assad regime but I really think the coup part will be short lived.

Sorry OP, just realised I wrote my post above as though it was you who is the child not your partner.

Big humanitarian difference.

Really? How so? Unless you think that the Syrian refugees are the architects of their own misfortune and therefore undeserving of our compassion and assistance. Even if that’s what you believe, on that basis, half the people who call an ambulance would have paramedics turning away and leaving them to it.

What an insane thing to say to someone.

The UK Govt. Foreign Travel Advice page on Syria https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/syria/getting-help has the following statement this evening under the sub heading Getting Help:
"Consular support is not available from the British government from within Syria, as all British Embassy services in Damascus are suspended and all diplomatic and consular staff have been withdrawn. The FCDO may become aware of plans by other organisations which can be shared with British nationals we know want to leave. Any travel would be undertaken at your own risk.
If you are a British citizen in Syria and need help, call the FCDO in London on +44 (0)20 7008 5000."

So going to a British Consulate office to apply for a tourist visa to come to the UK would seem to be impossible. A dreadful situation for people with relatives caught up in this awful civil war, let alone for the relatives themselves.

The only possible crumb of comfort I can think of is that at the moment the rebel advance seems to be moving so fast that in a very short time the village where the OPs partners family live may be well behind the front line, hopefully having suffered minimal damage as the front line will have passed it so quickly... but thats not much comfort at all really...

Op , I am so sorry. 💐 I really would not recommend Turkey as the first option as according to this article (https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/28/syrians-face-dire-conditions-turkish-occupied-safe-zone) they are pressuring refugees to leave Turkey for an area of Syria where basic needs are met very poorly.
Could they try to go to Egypt? I don't think Kurdistan is v safe bc of the border w Iraq, & the situation w Israel now, Gov.uk advises against it.
I'm really sorry to write this. I just think people are recommending things too quickly & not thinking of the ramifications.
I wish we could take everyone, at least temporarily. Not just us- is there any other European country they could come to?
From the little I know, Egypt seems the safest country accepting refugees.

I don't know man - maybe just the fact I don't want my elderly, ill mother living alone 3000 miles away (with 3rd world health access) and dying in her sleep, without me knowing, because she has no other family? Especially when I'm a British citizen earning 6 figures and can easily afford to look after her. But because my mother isn't one, she will sadly die alone as she doesn't meet the requirements for a Family Visa. And I cannot safely or legally move back home to look after her. Not every family split up is because of war - people migrate for different reasons, and immigration is brutal and unfair. no matter what circumstances But as I said I accept this as the reality of my choices. There's nothing the UK can do about it, but you certainly can learn some empathy for those families who make sacrifices for a better future.

I hope not. Not least because it will open the floodgates for others to be accepted. We’re currently in crisis in this country already with huge demands on a collapsing infrastructure. Best for them to find a country nearby which can accommodate them on a temporary basis pending the sorting out of the situation in Syria, which would align more with their culture and language needs. There’s a lot of unrest in the world, and we’re a small island with very little room to accommodate everyone going through this type of situation. Sorry.