Tag: VISA

Introduced by the home secretary, James Cleverly, RFUK claims the new MIR breaches the Equality Act because it will have a disproportionately adverse effect on women, members of ethnic minority groups, and young people…reports Asian Lite News

One of Rishi Sunak’s measures for cutting net migration is being challenged in the high court on the grounds that it is separating children from their parents and discriminates against women and minorities.

The Home Office has raised the minimum income requirement (MIR) so that anyone applying for a visa to bring a loved one from overseas must earn £29,000 a year, which will increase to £38,700 next year.

An application for judicial review has been filed this week by the pressure group Reunite Families UK (RFUK) saying that the measure is contrary to the UN convention on the rights of the child. The claim will question whether there was a sound legal basis for the increase and whether the decision was taken in line with official Whitehall advice.

Introduced by the home secretary, James Cleverly, RFUK claims the new MIR breaches the Equality Act because it will have a disproportionately adverse effect on women, members of ethnic minority groups, and young people.

The development comes after Sunak and Keir Starmer clashed over the net migration levels in Tuesday’s ITV debate. Both parties are promising to enact even tougher measures to cut legal migration, which stood at 685,000 in 2023.

The MIR increase was introduced in April and has been blamed for splitting couples of different nationalities and forcing families to separate, with most of the UK’s population earning too little to live in the UK with a foreign spouse.

Court documents will claim that it breaches the secretary of state’s legal obligations, which enact article 3 of the UN convention on the rights of the child. The planned increase to the MIR will result in many children being separated from a parent living abroad, because the British sponsor is no longer able to show the requisite level of income or savings, lawyers will argue.

Caroline Coombs, of RFUK, said: “The increases came as a complete surprise to the community we represent – and at a time when people all over the UK have been struggling with a relentless cost of living crisis.

“Whilst they have been working hard to earn and save enough to sponsor their partner, the government has punished them once again and for many, their dream of a family life together here has been shattered.”

Leigh Day partner Tessa Gregory, who represents RFUK, said: “Our client is appalled that a decision of such import appears to have been taken by the home secretary in such a cavalier manner: without proper analysis; and in breach of critical public law duties such as assessing the impact of the decision on protected groups.”

Sunak announced the rise in MIR in December while under intense political pressure from the right of the Conservative party over rising net migration.

A family visa is required for a British citizen or settled resident wanting to bring a foreign partner or spouse, and potentially children, to live in the UK together.

Until April 2024 the minimum income was set at £18,600. Currently, it is £29,000 with a plan reported earlier this year to raise it to £34,500 then £38,700 by 2025. Labour has indicated that it broadly supports the changes.

The Home Office was approached for comment but said it was a matter for the Conservative party because of purdah rules in the weeks leading up to a general election.

The Conservative party declined to comment, but party insiders insisted it was right that people who wanted to bring their family members to the UK were able to support them financially.

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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.

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