Row over raising £29,000 family visa minimum income level: Record number of people try to sway decision
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A record number of people are seeking to sway the decision over whether to raise the minimum income level needed for a family visa to Britain, Parliament was told. The minimum income normally required for British citizens to sponsor a visa for their spouse or partner is currently £29,000.
The Tory government was proposing raising this to £38,700 by early this year. But the new Labour government has paused the hike and asked the Government’s migration advisers to carry out a review into the most appropriate level at which it should be set.
Immigration minister Seema Malhotra told a Commons debate on family visas: “The Migration Advisory Committee has already completed a call for evidence. “It may be of interest to the House that that call for evidence, which gathered the views of stakeholders and those affected by changes to family rules and closed on 11 December, saw more than 2,000 responses—a record for a Migration Advisory Committee consultation.”.
The issue was being debated after more than 100,000 people signed an e-petition on the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) which was introduced in 2012 at a level of £18,600. The e-petition stated: “Most people in the UK don’t make £38,700 per year and now may face the choice of a lifetime without their partner or leaving their own country because they fell in love and can’t meet the financial requirement for the family visa.
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