UK Family Visa Changes: Dividing Families or Improving Migration Process?

The UK government has implemented the new immigration rules, which will affect families in the United Kingdom in several ways.

It will no longer be easy for couples to join their spouses in the country via a Family visa UK. Additionally, this could lead to the separation of families and children growing up with single parents. 

Due to the changes made to the immigration rules, UK-based sponsors seeking to bring their spouses or immediate family members into the country, need to meet the new minimum income requirement for a Family visa. For this reason, families will fall apart despite the need to curb the far too high levels of migration in the UK.

What Is a Family Visa UK?

The UK Family visa allows non-UK citizens to join their spouses or immediate family members in the United Kingdom. This visa is subcategorised into Spouse or Partner, Child Dependent, Parent visas and more. Therefore, the subcategory of a Family visa an applicant should apply for depends on their relationship with their UK-based family member (citizen or settled resident). The validity periods, costs and processing times of the Family visas differ. 

The UK-based individual or sponsor doesn’t complete the application process for a Family visa. However, the foreign-based individual must apply online, submit their documents and pay the visa application fee. After that, the UK-based sponsor's income will be used to measure the minimum income requirement for an initial visa application. Then, upon the renewal of the visa, both the individuals’ income will be required for the minimum income requirement.

UK Immigration New Rules 2024

The new immigration rules that took effect in 2024, were birthed on December 4, 2023, when the UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly announced a five-point plan designed to curb net migration in the UK. After that, the Home Office made further announcements including some adjustments to the already declared new immigration rules and their phased implementation approach on December 21, 2023.

Drastic changes to the immigration rules could affect British citizens more than migrants, researchers say. The reason is that the new immigration rules increased the minimum income requirement for British citizens who want to sponsor their spouses or partners to come and stay with them in the UK.

Therefore, British citizens must meet the minimum income requirement for a Family visa to bring their spouses or immediate family members to join them. The new immigration rules concerning the Family visa took effect from March to April 2024. Note that many British residents don’t earn the income requirement threshold set for the Family visa UK.

The Reason for UK Family Visa Changes

The major aim for UK Family visa changes is because the UK government wants to reduce net migration. This action was taken as a part of the new immigration rules designed to lower overall net migration in the country. Statistics show that the UK government issued 1.44 million visas in 2023 and only about 5.6% are family-related.

The new immigration rules came after the Office for National Statistics released new official estimates of the high national migration. Statistics show there was an addition of 745,000 people in net migration in December 2022 year-end which exceeded expectations. Additionally, there was a net migration figure of 672,000 in June 2023 year ending. 

This led to the announcement of the 5-point plan which includes the increment of the minimum income requirement for a Family visa from £18,600 to £29,000. This minimum income of £29,000 is set to increase to £34,500 later in 2024 in the second phase. It will then rise to £38,700 by early 2025 which will be the last phase of the minimum income threshold implementation.

The £38,700 minimum income threshold of 2025 will be more than double the initial threshold (£18,600) and is the same as the new income requirement for Skilled Worker visa applicants. Besides the aim of reducing net migration, the UK government set the new minimum income requirement so that British citizens (and other UK residents) and their families won't rely on social security benefits.

Individuals who have already entered the UK via a Family visa (Partner route) before the increment of the minimum income threshold will have their visa renewal application assessed against the minimum income threshold used in their initial application. With these new rules implemented, about 300,000 fewer people will enter the UK unlike in recent years.

Implications of the Changes for UK Families

As the new immigration rules have taken effect, couples not already united in the UK will be compelled to stay in different countries. This will result in couples staying away from one another for a very long time, leading to the breakdown of marriage and loss of contact with loved ones.

Additionally, there will be an increase in single-parent families and the newly introduced minimum income threshold will discriminate against people who can't afford them. After the immigration rules change, three-quarters of British citizens won't have enough finances to bring their loved ones to stay with them in the UK.

Final Thoughts

The UK government introduced some changes to the Family visa UK as a part of the general measure designed to lower the overall net immigration of the country. For this reason, British citizens and other UK-based residents will find it harder to bring their spouses or immediate family members into the UK. Due to these changes, the number of people coming to live in the United Kingdom will reduce drastically. 

However, the downside of these new rules is that they could tear families apart and cause the breakdown of marriage. British citizens and other settled residents in the United Kingdom must know their options for bringing their spouses or immediate family members to the UK. Therefore, they need to seek expert guidance from a professional immigration lawyer. The immigration lawyer will help assess their situation and know if they can meet the new minimum income requirement when other options such as savings and other earning sources are considered.