Our Casework Team walks alongside people seeking sanctuary through the challenges of being cut off from all support. Because our refugee friends are barred from support, they are often made vulnerable to exploitation and homelessness.

Read more: www.jrsuk.net/blog/support...

2. Expanding access to legal advice so that refugee friends can resolve their immigration cases more quickly.

3. Increasing capacity for specialist services – many of which are overstretched and unable to support everyone in need.

1. Ensuring immigration status never prevents someone from accessing support. Women experiencing domestic abuse are routinely excluded from vital protections simply because of how they arrived in the UK. This is unjust: everyone deserves to live free from violence.

Women seeking sanctuary often face particularly complex barriers – especially after having their asylum case refused.
Too often, immigration status becomes a barrier to safety. We believe the asylum system must be rooted in compassion and fairness. This means:

Want to learn more about refugee families’ experiences? Read the latest edition of Together: www.jrsuk.net/winter2025

Let’s make this Advent a season of hope and welcome. 💙

This Advent JRS UK is raising funds for essential practical support for refugee families. Your support matters more than ever.
👉 Donate: www.jrsuk.net/advent

There is an urgent need for a more compassionate asylum system – one that recognises the humanity and potential of every person: every woman, man, and child.

Hear what @childrenscomm.bsky.social had to say: youtu.be/eFcV7GVkRwM

Last month, the Children's Commissioner visited JRS UK to hear about the experiences of refugee families in the asylum system. Earlier this year, family reunifications were suspended. This week, new policies were announced that will inflict profound harm.

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As we approach Christmas and recall the Holy Family’s own flight as refugees, we reaffirm our commitment to stand alongside others in opposing these policies and working for an asylum system that is humane, just, and rooted in solidarity with women, men, and children forced to flee their homes.

Pope Leo calls us to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate refugees. The Government’s decision does the opposite: it curtails welcome, undermines protection, and blocks integration. In so doing, it diminishes our common humanity and makes our society poorer.

These policies will inflict profound harm - not only on those accompanied by the Jesuit Refugee Service UK, but on all who seek safety here.

Interfaith Week is a moment to celebrate the diversity that characterises the UK - and is one of its greatest strengths. We’re united by shared values of humanity and service to one another, and we see those lived out every day.

Read more about the Commissioner's visit: www.jrsuk.net/news/childre...

During her time at the centre, Dame Rachel learned about the huge challenges faced by families navigating the asylum system, including food insecurity and malnutrition, unsafe accommodation, disruption to education, and the emotional toll of living in limbo for long periods.

The Commissioner shared: “It’s always so powerful to hear people’s stories. Today I met people who have been waiting for years and years. JRS UK and other organisations like this are holding lives together."