The Migration Advisory Committee has warned against raising the minimum income requirement for those who want to bring their partner to the country.
In a report commissioned by the Home Secretary and published on Tuesday 10 June, the Committee examined the minimum income requirement’s effects on family life and economic wellbeing.
Currently, the minimum annual income a British resident needs to earn to bring their partner over to the UK is £29,000 – a figure which the previous Conservative government planned to raise to £38,700.
Labour subsequently ordered a review of this figure, which has resulted in the advice published by the Migration Advisory Committee against increasing the requirement.
The report suggested that out of all the possible options it formulated for minimum income requirements, the higher figure proposed by the Tories makes the least sense and warned that “is the most likely to conflict with international law and obligations”.
After examining the evidence, the Committee has actually found that the minimum income requirement could be lowered to between £23,000 and £25,000 while maintaining its effectiveness in ensuring that families are able to support themselves.
“If the government wants to ensure families take responsibility for supporting themselves by requiring the sponsor to work but not necessarily requiring them to command a salary above the minimum wage, an MIR at this level would be appropriate (£23,000-£25,000),” the report said.
“If the government wants to use a living-standards approach that puts more emphasis on economic wellbeing and less on family life, indicators in the £24,000 to £28,000 range can also be justified.”
The report noted that the UK’s minimum income requirement was relatively high compared to other countries, which the Committee said put more of an emphasis on family life than economic wellbeing for those applying for partner visas.
It noted that Pakistan is the largest nationality to use the route for out-of-country applications (almost three times as many as the next largest nationality, India), and that a high proportion of applicants are women with 90% under the age of 44.
The report also found that family visa holders tend to stay in the UK long-term. It noted that 89% of applicants granted an out-of-country partner visa in 2017 or 2018 still had valid status in the UK by the end of 2024.
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