Families of UK migrants are left in the lurch over new income rules

Downing Street’s plan to increase the income threshold for visas will apply to both new and renewal applications.

The Home Office has provided unclear information about how this new approach will work, leaving households unsure.
The changes in migration rules announced by the home secretary James Cleverly this week included a dramatic increase in the minimum income required of UK citizens or migrants who have already settled in the UK. Cleverly stated that this figure has not been updated since 2012. It was intended to ensure “migrants bring only dependants who can be supported financially”.

This change could have a devastating impact on those who are affected. Most of the UK population earns too little money to marry a foreign partner and live in their country.

Alan Manning, the former head of the government’s immigration advisory committee, criticized the policy as “very restrictive” and stated that it has had “dramatic consequences for individual families.”He said that if families who came to the UK before the old rule had to now meet the new threshold for their visas to be extended, it would “turn a lot people’s life completely upside-down”.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Number 10 told journalists that the application of the new threshold on visa renewals was “fair and equitable”. He said that the new threshold would not be retroactive, but only apply to future renewals. “People have a visa for a certain period of time and are aware that at the end of the visa, there is no guarantee they will remain in the country.”

The Home Office initially said that the change didn’t affect those already in the UK, only new applications.The department later was unable confirm this and instead said that “transitional steps” would be “announced in due time”.

Manning said that the confusion shows that they haven’t fully considered the situation and it’s unlikely that ministers would proceed.
Madeleine Sumption of the Oxford University’s Migration Observatory said that it would also be surprising if a new threshold was applied to renewals. In the past, the government has generally held the opinion that new rules shouldn’t be applied retroactively to those already in the UK.

The Number 10 team noted that there were several ways for people already in the UK who wanted to renew their family visa to reach the higher threshold. British citizens who live with a spouse from abroad can take into account their combined income if both are working in the UK. Number 10 stated that the government would also take into account non-employment income, such as rent, a couple’s savings or pensions.

Individuals who are nearing the expiration date of their visas can either renew them or apply for an indefinite stay.

The spokesperson explained that a provision in the rules on family immigration allows families to appeal if their application is denied due to “unjustifiably severe consequences”.

This policy may impact women and ethnic minorities in a disproportionate way, as they tend to earn less on average.
Manning stated that roughly a third (33%) of the family visas are issued to South Asian migrants, for whom it is common practice to marry a foreign spouse.

He said that the £18.600 threshold introduced in 2012 had a smaller impact than expected, perhaps because extended families could pool their resources and qualify using both earnings and cash savings.