The government has an unsafe journeys policy that offers some flexibility in this kind of situation, but has taken a more strict approach to families – often mothers with very young children – in Gaza who are hoping to reunite with husbands and fathers granted refugee status in the UK.
A judge in the immigration court known as the upper tribunal has found the home secretary acted unlawfully in the way the policy was applied to two families and has quashed the decision to block them.
The Home Office says it is looking to appeal against the decision.
An estimated 250-300 people in Gaza who want to reunite with immediate family members who have been granted refugee status in the UK are similarly stranded. The Home Office says biometrics should be obtained before families travel. The Foreign Office has said it is willing to evacuate some of these families from Gaza so they can obtain biometrics in Jordan.
In her judgment, the judge, Fiona Lindsley, said the families were living in vulnerable structures in a war zone, malnourished, unwell and struggling psychologically with anxiety from their husbands and fathers in the UK that they would not survive much longer if they remained in Gaza.