April 12, 2024
5 mins read

UK govt hikes family visa income requirement by 55%

Home Office says move marks the final measure in PM, Home Secretary’s package to reduce legal migration and ensure those arriving here do not burden taxpayers…reports Asian Lite News

The minimum income required for British citizens and residents, including those of Indian heritage, wanting to sponsor their relatives on a Family Visa increased by over 55 per cent from Thursday, as the incremental increase in salary thresholds announced by the government last year are enforced.

Starting Thursday, for someone to be sponsored to come to the UK on a Family Visa, they must have a minimum annual salary of £29,000, up from £18,600. By early next year, this will have increased two more times to match the Skilled Worker visa salary threshold of £38,700.

The Home Office said it marks the final measure in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary James Cleverly’s package to reduce legal migration and “ensure those arriving here do not burden the taxpayer”.

“We have reached a tipping point with mass migration. There is no simple solution or easy decision which cuts numbers to levels acceptable to the British people,” said Cleverly.

“I promised action and we have delivered at remarkable speed. We’ve acted to cut unsustainable numbers, to protect British workers and their wages, to ensure those bringing family to the UK do not burden taxpayers, and to build an immigration system fit for the future – and one the public can rightly have confidence in,” he said.

“Whether it was words unsupported by action, unfounded optimism or just plain wishful thinking that migration would fall on its own, indifference of any kind is never going to work – only determined action, backed by strong resolve, will deliver needed change,” the minister added.

The move had been criticised by the Opposition when it was first tabled in the House of Commons in December 2023. It led the government to opt for a more staged approach to the salary threshold hike, rather than an immediate hike to £38,700, as previously indicated.

“I think the principle here is right, that if people are bringing dependents into this country as part of their family, they must be able to support them. We’re increasing the salary threshold significantly, and we’re going exactly as we said we were doing it – we’re just doing it in two stages,” Sunak said at the time.

The Home Office said the staged approach to increasing the income requirement for the Family Visa gives predictability to families, enabling them to plan accordingly, whilst ensuring that anyone coming to the UK to be with their family or loved ones is supported financially.

“The income requirement, which had remained unchanged for more than a decade, helps to ensure families are self-sufficient and not relying on public funds, whilst making a positive impact on the economy. The sponsoring family member, or in combination with the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work, must now have an income of at least GBP 29,000 earned in the UK. The requirement can be met in several ways, including through savings exclusively or in addition to a lower income,” the Home Office said.

It follows the Sunak-led government’s steps to cut migration, current levels of which are seen as too high – “putting pressure on public services, housing, and undercutting British workers”.

“The government’s ambition for a high-skill, a high-wage economy cannot rely on mass migration, and measures introduced as part of the package will protect British workers, encourage business to invest in, and recruit, workers domestically while prioritising only the very best talent from abroad,” the Home Office noted.

The latest measure is part of a wider package unveiled last year, which the Home Office says will mean approximately 300,000 people arriving in the UK last year would no longer be able to. Since the beginning of this year, several visa norms have been tightened as part of the package.

The steps taken by the government included ending the ability of nearly all students to bring dependants to the UK; restricting care workers from bringing family members; increasing the minimum salary required for those arriving on the Skilled Worker visa, from £26,200 to £38,700; and replacing the Shortage Occupation List with a new Immigration Salary List, aimed at blocking employers from paying migrants less than UK workers in shortage occupations.

The income requirement, which had remained unchanged for more than a decade, helps to ensure families are self-sufficient and not relying on public funds, whilst making a positive impact on the economy. The sponsoring family member, or in combination with the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work, must now have an income of at least £29,000 earned in the UK. The requirement can be met in a number of ways, including through savings exclusively or in addition to a lower income.

The government has been clear that current levels of immigration are too high – putting pressure on public services, housing, and undercutting British workers – which is why decisive action was taken in December. The government’s ambition for a high-skill, high-wage economy cannot rely on mass migration, and measures introduced as part of the package will protect British workers, encourage business to invest in, and recruit, workers domestically, while prioritising only the very best talent from abroad.

ALSO READ-US slaps new visa curbs on Hong Kong officials

Previous Story

Kerala BJP chief vows to rename Sultan Bathery

Next Story

Sunak’s attempt to ban smoking is nuts, says Johnson

Latest from -Top News

India Evacuates More Nepalis from Iran

The Nepal Embassy officials and MEA representatives received them at the New Delhi airport, as they departed for Butwal in Nepal….reports Asian Lite News The Nepal Embassy in New Delhi on Thursday

Hardliners eye Dhaka comeback

Maulana Manjurul Islam Afendi, Secretary General of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam, noted that efforts to bring these parties together had been in motion for years, but challenges remain in achieving consensus on the modalities

Over 7,000 Afghans return overnight

This latest influx is part of a broader, ongoing trend of mass returns—often under duress—from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, where millions of Afghans have lived for decades, many without legal documentation. A

Xi may skip BRICS Brazil summit

Chinese premier Li Qiang expected to attend in Xi’s place as Beijing signals shift in diplomatic posture; Belt and Road tensions with Brazil may be a factor….reports Asian Lite News In a
Go toTop

Don't Miss

BA official on the run in India over £3 mn visa racket

“He exploited a loophole knowing that immigration checks are no

Lammy aims for UK foreign policy reset

While the six initial priorities promised in its election manifesto