The United Kingdom government has enforced new family visa regulations to cut “unsustainable and unfair” levels of migration as a part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary James Cleverley’s plan to reduce legal migration. The minimum income required to sponsor someone coming to the UK on a family visa increased from £18,600 to £29,000 from April 11, 2024, which is an increment of more than 55 percent.
British citizens and residents, including those from the Indian community, will be needing a minimum annual salary of £29,000 to sponsor their family for a UK Family Visa.
According to the UK government’s official website, by early 2025, this will have increased two more times, rising to £38,700 to meet the new salary threshold for a Skilled Worker visa.
UK government addresses further visa related issues
Further, the move will also commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry out a rapid review of the graduate route for international students to prevent abuse and replace the Shortage Occupation List with a new Immigration Salary List, with employers no longer able to pay migrants less than UK workers in shortage occupations.
The British government said that the new 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.
These new changes in the UK Visa norms are a part of the reforms to immigration system the Rishi Sunak government announced back in 2023. In addition to that, last year the UK government tighten the student visa route. With the new rules, approximately 300,000 people arriving in the UK last year would no longer be able to.
Home Secretary James Cleverley said UK has 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. He further promised that due action is being taken and that government has a remarkable speed in fulfilling when it comes to promises.
He further added that they have 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.
We’re delivering on our promise to cut migration👇 pic.twitter.com/VhYTvudDdw
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) April 11, 2024
UK Home Office data show that Indian nationals represented 38% of all dependents issued a work visa alongside main applicants, followed by Nigerian and Zimbabwean nationals (17% and 9%, respectively).
List of measures which UK government have implemented to reduce legal immigration:
- Ending the ability of nearly all students to bring dependents to the UK.
- Restricting care workers from bringing family members.
- Requiring care providers to register with the Care Quality Commission if they are sponsoring migrant care workers.
- Commissioning the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry out a rapid review of the Graduate route for international students to prevent abuse, protect the integrity and quality of UK higher education and ensure it works in the best interests of the UK.
- Increasing the minimum salary required for those arriving on the Skilled Worker visa, from £26,200 to £38,700
- Replacing the Shortage Occupation List with a new Immigration Salary List, with employers no longer able to pay migrants less than UK workers in shortage occupations