LONDON: Government revises family visa income hike plan after backlash. The Government has changed its plan to increase the minimum income Britons need to sponsor their foreign spouses or partners to live in the UK from £18,600 to £38,700.
The Home Office said on Thursday that it would now raise the threshold to £29,000 in spring 2024, and then gradually increase it to £38,700 in the following years. The original plan, announced by Home Secretary James Cleverly as part of a package of measures to reduce legal migration, was criticised by MPs, campaigners and families who said it would split up thousands of couples and children.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom, a Home Office minister, said the new plan would balance the need to cut net migration with the right to family life. He said the current threshold of £18,600 allowed 75% of the UK workers to sponsor their foreign relatives, while the proposed threshold of £38,700 would limit it to 30%. He said the Government would raise the threshold in stages, starting with £29,000, which is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs eligible for Skilled Worker visas.
Read More: https://londonpost.news/uk-tightens-work-visa-rules-by-raising-minimum-salary-for-skilled-workers/
He said the threshold would then go up to the 40th percentile (£34,500) and the 50th percentile (£38,700), which is the same as the general skilled worker threshold. However, he did not give a timeline for when the threshold would reach £38,700, nor did the Home Office papers published on Thursday. The Prime Minister had previously said the Government would consider “transitional arrangements” to make the changes “fair”.
The Home Office also confirmed that the changes would only affect new applicants, and that those who had already obtained a fiancee visa would be assessed against the £18,600 threshold when they applied for a family visa.
Mr Cleverly claimed the plan would still reduce net migration by 300,000 people a year, saying it was the “biggest ever reduction” and a fulfilment of the Government’s promise to “bring the numbers down”. Home Office minister Tom Pursglove is expected to write to MPs on Friday to explain the Government’s plans.
The Liberal Democrats criticised the Government for its “half-thought through idea” to appease the “hardliners” on its back benches. The party’s home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said Mr Cleverly should “stop digging” and consult with experts and politicians on the impact of his changes on the economy. He also called on him to publish the advice from the Treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility on the effects of his plan.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused the Government of being “chaotic” on immigration and the economy, saying it had failed to consult anyone on its proposals and had ignored the consequences for families. She said the Government had no proper plan to link the immigration system to training or workforce planning, and that net migration had trebled under its watch as skills shortages had worsened.
