We have written extensively about the challenges to the new financial requirements for spouse/unmarried partner visa in the UK. Recently, as noted by The Telegraph, there have been new developments in the matter. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary in new Labour government has announced some updates. For the moment, the most important is the freezing of the current threshold of financial requirement for the spouse visa at the level of £ 29.000. The new requirements are particularly harsh when coupled with the high cost of the visa itself as well as adequate accommodation.
Furthermore, according to the press news announced the change will be referred for reassessment to the Migration Advisory Committee and the current £29,000 level of financial requirements may be changed as a result and the further increases of £34,500 and then £38,700 not to be implemented.
Summary – what next
There is no guarantee as to the outcome of the review but it might mean that the actual requirements will be adjusted to a level more manageable for the applicants and their families. However, there is reasonable chance that the increases will not progress and even the £29,000 may be slightly lowered.
As noted in The Telegraph, the required salary as envisaged by the Home Office was higher than mediana of salaries in the UK. That raised prospects of significant hardship for the UK citizens & settled UK residents wanting to bring their partners or spouses to the UK on family visas. Possibility of breaches to the human rights of those applicants were raised and there is a reasonable prospect that the new requirements will be successfully challenged in the courts.
Home Secretary's decision to halt the further increases to minimum income requirement seems to take into account those concerns. Nevertheless, even if the MAC report is positive for those affected by the minimum income increases, the MAC is likely to agree that the income threshold can increase to some degree in line with the rising costs of living and inflation. The income requirement is supposed to reflect real cost of life in the UK for the applicant and his spouse and the original salary requirement, at £ 18,600 was not adjusted for inflation for a number of years.
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