The United Kingdom has hiked the family visa income requirement by 55 percent in a bid to control the legal migration to the country.
After the new measure taken by the Rishi Sunak government, the minimum income required to sponsor someone coming to the UK on a family visa increased from GBP 18,600 (USD 23,196) to GBP 29,000 (USD 36,167) effective from April 11.
The government has also revealed its plan to increase the income requirement further two times more by 2025. It plans to increase to GBP 38,700 (USD 48,264) to meet the salary threshold as per the Skilled Worker visa.
The new step comes after the UK tightened the student visa route in May 2023.
Commenting on the new measure, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly said, “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.
“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 government has made it clear that “family life cannot be established in the UK at the expense of taxpayers, and migrants joining their family must integrate into society and play a full part in British life”.
“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,” the UK Home Office said.