Coronavirus lockdown has given many of us a taste of separation from family members and loved ones, but ask lockdown eases, some families remain separated.

Since 2012, when the British government introduced new restrictions to family immigration, thousands of British citizens and long-term residents have been denied the right to live with their partners and/or families in the UK. A Minimum Income Requirement was set at a level higher than the earnings of nearly half of the working population, with alternatives based on saving similarly out of reach for many, and dramatic increases in visa fees and other costs adding to financial barriers. Lengthy waiting times and decision errors mean that even those whose applications are successful in the end can face lengthy periods of uncertainty and separation. The implications for families and individuals can be severe, not just in emotional terms, but also in economic hardships and negative impacts on health and wellbeing.

Join us for a webinar to discuss these issues, and celebrate the launch of Kept Apart: a new collection of narratives and illustrations which highlights the pressures of navigating the UK family immigration system, and the profound impacts on individuals and families kept apart from their loved ones.

The research project ‘Kept Apart: Making prose-poetry with people seperated from families by the immigration system’ , involving Katharine Charsley (University of Bristol), Helena Wray (University of Exeter), Emma Agusita (UWE Bristol), Caroline Combs and Paige Ballmi (Reunite Families UK) and Rissa Mohabir (Trauma Awareness), is supported by the Brigstow Institute, University of Bristol.

The speakers will be:

• Mary Atkinson, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
• Reunite Families UK
• Katharine Charsley, University of Bristol
• Helena Wray, University of Exeter