UK halts further rise to Family Visa minimum income threshold

A planned 'incremental' hike in the minimum income threshold for British nationals and permanent residents applying to bring family members to join them in the UK, a move impacting several Indian families, has been shelved by the new Labour Party government. 

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons in a written statement this week that there will be no further hike on the current GBP 29,000 annual income requirement until the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) completes a review into the impact of the hikes on families.

The MAC has also been tasked to review the reliance of some key sectors on international recruitment, in particular IT and engineering, which rely on "significant levels" of international recruitment, including from India.

"The family immigration rules, including the minimum income requirement, need to balance a respect for family life with ensuring that the economic wellbeing of the UK is maintained," Cooper states.

"To help ensure that we reach the right balance and have a solid evidence base for any change, I will commission the MAC to review the financial requirements in the family immigration rules. 

The minimum income requirement is currently set at GBP 29,000, and there will be no further changes until the MAC review is complete," she notes.

As part of a package of measures to curb migration in December last year, the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led Conservative government had announced that from April this year, the minimum salary or income required by British nationals to sponsor long-term Family Visas for spouses or parents will rise from GBP 18,600 to GBP 29,000 and then be followed by further increases to GBP 38,700 - in line with the minimum income requirement for the Skilled Worker Visa route.

Analysts had flagged that this steep hike will have a wide-ranging impact on the family plans of those on lower incomes. 

Indians made up the second-highest cohort under the Family Visa category in 2023 (5,248), after Pakistanis (14,330) and ahead of Bangladeshis (3,534) as the top three nationalities sponsoring such visas, as per UK Home Office statistics from earlier this year.


Source : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/uk-halts-further-rise-to-family-visa-minimum-income-threshold/articleshow/112202729.cms