Labour has dropped Tory plans to stop people earning under £38,700 from bringing foreign spouses or partners to the UK.
As part of efforts to reduce legal immigration, ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak hiked the minimum income requirement for sponsoring a foreign spouse or partner visa.
The income threshold was raised from £18,600 to £29,000 per year by the Tories in April, with plans to increase it to £34,500 later this year and £38,700 by early 2025.
But Yvette Cooper, the new Home Secretary, has said there will be ‘no further changes’ to the £29,000 threshold until a review is completed.
She has ordered the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to assess whether there is currently the ‘right balance’ between ‘respect for family life’ and the ‘economic wellbeing of the UK’.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has dropped Tory plans to stop people earning under £38,700 from bringing foreign spouses or partners to the UK
As part of efforts to reduce legal immigration, ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak hiked the minimum income requirement for sponsoring a foreign spouse or partner visa
In a written statement to Parliament, published yesterday as MPs broke up for their summer recess, Ms Cooper set out Labour’s ‘new approach’ to legal migration.
She outlined how the new Government would aim to boost the skills of British workers before recruiting from abroad.
In a swipe at the Tories, the Home Secretary said rising levels of legal migration in recent years reflected a ‘failure over many years to tackle skills shortages and other problems in the UK labour market’.
The MAC will be ordered to work alongside Skills England and other bodies as part of a new ‘coherent approach to skills, migration and labour market policy’, Ms Cooper added.
She also revealed she would keep the current minimum income requirement for a partner or spouse to be granted a visa, but did not commit to raising it to £38,700 as planned by the Conservatives.
‘The Family Immigration Rules, including the Minimum Income Requirement, need to balance a respect for family life whilst also ensuring the economic wellbeing of the UK is maintained,’ the Home Secretary said.
‘To help ensure we reach the right balance and have a solid evidence base for any change, I will commission the MAC to review the financial requirements, in the Family Immigration Rules.
‘The Minimum Income Requirement is currently set at £29,000 and there will be no further changes until the MAC review is complete.’
When Mr Sunak first unveiled the plans to hike the minimum income level for sponsoring foreign spouse or partner visas, he faced claims he was ‘putting a price on love’.
Critics claimed that poorer Britons would no longer be able to live together with their foreign spouses in the UK.
Tory former minister Gavin Barwell joined a backlash against the move.
He branded it ‘morally wrong and un-Conservative to say that only the wealthiest can fall in love, marry someone and then bring them to the UK’.
When applying for the initial visa from outside the UK, only the sponsor’s income can be counted towards the minimum income threshold.
But, for extensions and permanent residence, both incomes count.
There are also some options for people who do not earn the minimum income, allowing them to qualify for the visa by other means such as by using savings above £16,000 or in exceptional circumstances.
