To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will issue guidance on exemptions to meeting the minimum income requirement threshold for family visas.
Answered on
7 February 2024
On 4 December 2023 the Home Secretary announced his intention to raise the MIR to £38,700, aligned to the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold is set. On 21 December 2023 we set out further details on how we would implement this through a staged implementation.
On 30 January 2024, we confirmed the Immigration Rules we intend to lay on 14 March will set out that from 11 April we will raise the threshold to £29,000 - that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas.
We will incrementally increase the threshold to the 40th percentile (currently £34,500), and finally to the 50th percentile (currently £38,700, and the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold (GSWT) is set) by early 2025.
It is important that the changes are delivered in a sensible and pragmatic way that gives families time to adapt, but ensures they deliver the reduction in numbers the British people expect.
Whilst the level of the minimum income requirement (MIR) is being raised, other aspects of the MIR will remain unchanged including exceptions.
For example, where the applicant’s partner is in receipt of specified benefits or allowances in the UK, such as Disability Living Allowance, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance”, rather than meeting an income threshold.
The family Immigration Rules also contain provisions to allow for a person to be granted a Family visa even where they do not meet the MIR, where they show that their case raises exceptional circumstances, and a refusal of family leave would lead to unjustifiably harsh consequences for them or their family.
The published guidance on the current MIR is contained in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chapter-8-appendix-fm-family-members.
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.