Government announces major changes to legal immigration, increased minimum income requirement

https://www.ein.org.uk/news/governm...ed-immigration-raising-minimum-skilled-worker

Making a hard process even harder.

What are your thoughts on this?

This as I read it does not include where the Brit currently wants to bring his spouse over the threshold will still be £18600,
It relates to the skilled worker and non skilled immigrants schemes
If your going through the minimum immigration worker scheme the threshold to bring your spouse over is also £18600 and they are looking to align it with a skilled immigration visa.
This seems a sensible move as all immigrants and families will be self funding and not a potential drain on the social welfare schemes.

Continues to confirm my view on the current government and just hardens my view against them.

Charitable view is that they dont realise that this impacts on the ability of brits to reunite their families. Also more that just spouses as there will be kids that dont have british citizenship so cant join parents. Majority of cases kids will be able to get british citizenship but not in all cases.

Majority of people on here will be ok as spouse has either ILR or citizenship. Probably most others who have started visa journey are ok as suspect that they wont make the new income requirement retroactive but if they do will make problems for a number of people (having to from meeting an income requirement of 18k to having to have 38k. Remains to be seen on whether savings requirements moves in line from

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commo...A2-F615-48F2-8C56-423A29556F9F/LegalMigration

Fourthly, we will ensure that people bring only dependants whom they can support financially, by raising the minimum income for family visas to the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers, which is £38,700. The minimum income requirement is currently £18,600 and has not been increased since 2012. This package of measures will take effect from next spring.

I'm not sure but it appears it would restrict spouses too: ' The minimum income requirement for a spouse or family visa will be raised from £18,600 to £38,700.'

It is explained in the quote from James Cleverly:
""Fourthly, we will ensure that people bring only dependants whom they can support financially, by raising the minimum income for family visas to the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers, which is £38,700. The minimum income requirement is currently £18,600 and has not been increased since 2012. This package of measures will take effect from next spring."
I took 'Dependants' to refer to anyone covered by the family visas, which includes spouse as I understand.

Yes those on the journey of non skilled and skilled work visa should be ok but this is where the disparity lies a non skilled can bring spouse and family over on £18600 but a skilled worker needs double that.
What I think they are hoping to achieve is minimise the low skilled coming in with families and draining the benefits system which in my view is correct and long overdue

According to this it will impact on Foreign spouses. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...n&cvid=01344277aa884ed9a5868b738e156bc6&ei=55

Fair point however I read it again in point 4Fourthly, we will ensure that people bring only dependants whom they can support financially, by raising the minimum income for family visas to the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers, which is £38,700.
Key word and as they are talking about immigrants is bring

As I understand visa rules spouses and kids fall under the family visa route and only one family visa route.

Might be bad wording by the home secretary and a reversal may happen but as announced the new requirement for income for a spouse visa will be moving to £38k.

Yes I think a more accurate announcement will shape up in the coming days weeks etc.

This is a Government playing with figures and hitting easy targets, this will according to the Independant cut family sponsorship by 10,000 per year WoW!!!! what about the other 600,000+ I feel sorry for people thinking of entering in a relationship because this will without doubt hit many of them hard and make it almost impossible for them to bring there spouse here.
Sponsors will need to earn approx £744 per week to qualify under the new income requirement, here where I live there are only managers, highly skilled workers and some self employed that earn that kind of money, even in the Plastics Manufacturing Industry as a Setter/Technician there are not many that will be earning that salary and only because they will be working unsocial hours ie Nights, Weekends etc etc, I am sorry but Spouses are easy targets and will be hit hard by this, what about the illegals Mr Claverley will we still be providing them with a roof over there head, food on the table and money in the pocket ?, paid for by British Tax payers and Visa Fees.

I must admit I think it’s to do with migrants and migrants using the family visa route


The government is raising the minimum income for those bringing family member to the UK on a family visa to £38,700 from spring 2024.

The minimum income currently required is £18,600.
We await clarification I gurss
An estimated 70,000 people came to the UK on family visas in the year ending June 2023.

They cant or should i say wont stop the boats
So they flex there muscles and go after the genuine.
Then again they wont be in power middle or end of next year.
No doubt in my mind its going to be a landslide defeat for the tories

I too would wait for clarity on this. Even for this god awful government, the changes seem too extreme.

However, I think it's fair to say that those who use spouse visas have been viewed as an easy target for years and years. The fees involved are obviously a cash grab considering that the foreign spouse is ineligible to apply for benefits. As much as we may protest, nobody directly unaffected by the visa application really cares. And now we are potentially at the stage where the ultimate driving force behind Brexit (immigration) has been turned on to this community. An easy target for a quick buck or massaging of numbers. I genuinely hope I'm wrong but....well done, lads. You went and voted for a plan where the ringleaders hate you and your partners. Turkeys who voted for Christmas. Anyhow, hope I'm wrong.

I said this at the time and I will repeat it till the end of the time, Conservative/Tories were always a pro-eu party, none of them are or ever have been brexiteers, the only reason a 'Vote Leave' camp was established was because UKIP outsted the libs dems and started gaining traction, terrifying them.
They even thought that running around with a bus with a blatant lie printed on it would be enough not realising people would vote for that exact thing, since then they have done everything to stay attached to the EU by one means or another.

Anyway, I don't want to get political here but I will say I'd hope that if another government comes in they spend the time to dismantle and reverse a lot of the 'changes' this government have introduced.

You are taking the bait about small boats. You probably complain too that they are being put up in 5* accommodation. Feeding that frenzy is one of the reasons why future people in your wife's position could be in a severely different situation. They will not hesitate to throw people like you or her under the bus at a moments notice.

Of all the problems in this country at the moment, other than humanitarian aspect of people dying at sea, the economic impact of immigrants arriving on boats is small fry.

I mean they are talking about immigration being to high? Last 3 years alone we have had illegals entering on a boat well over 100k
Dont pay taxes or amything
They wont stop that so they go after genuine like the corrupt gov always do... Work you get taxed to the eyeballs you abids by law and pay for a loved ones visa.. They make you pay a fortune.. Whatever you do in this disgusting corrupt country theh end up shafting you
No wonder so much crime and theft as they know they get away with it
And most are via these invaders how ever you want to sugar coat it... The countries week and always will be.
They let terrorist marches happen without batting an eyelid but then of you go out and show a flag to the terrorists on the street you will get it from the police.
Country is ran by monkeys and corruption
Who go after the weak person.. Its a fact

Then your the sort of person who would say this is fine? While the taxpayer pays the £7 million a day hotel bill while they work illegally cash in hand and no tax after coming illegally? Its people like you who let it slide while others suffer just about getting by and being taxed to the eyeballs... The left as we call it

Yup. You've taken his bait and insisting to yourself that the hook impaled on your lip has a french fry rather than a maggot.





Of all the problems affecting the country, those immigrants are not your enemy. The "burden" of those immigrants is not responsible for whatever your quality of life may be.

Before this 'low-hanging fruit' era:

When I brought the first Mrs over in 1991, it was a quick interview at the British embassy in Manila, and pay your 40 quid spouse visa fee.
After 1 year in the UK... 'Indefinite Leave To Remain' stamp issued. Happy days.

I have no idea which particular political party is our 'enemy' on this, but UK is pretty much screwed IMHO...and I'm happy to be typing this in a sunny, and fun 'developing nation'.
Good luck to all those now seeking second and third jobs, to be able to meet the new requirements, and remember to pay your taxes to help out all those supposedly less fortunate than yourselves.