The salary requirements for UK working visas for British citizens and residents, including those of Indian origin, have gone up by nearly 50% as a part of Rishi Sunak government’s move to reduce immigration to the country.
The new rules, which came into effect on April 11, say that a minimum annual salary of GBP 29,000 is required for someone to be sponsored to come to the UK on a Family Visa. The amount, which is up from GBP 18,600, will be further increased two more times to match the Skilled Worker visa salary threshold of GBP 38,700, as per media reports.
They are a part of a wider series of measures implemented by the Tory government including those like curtailing students’ ability to bring dependants to the UK, restricting care workers from bringing family members and increasing the minimum salary requirement for those arriving on the Skilled Worker visa.
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However, the rules are not applicable to jobs in certain sectors like healthcare, social care, and teachers on national pay scales, but with a catch — the workers cannot bring family dependants with them, reported BBC.
Announcing the rules, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly said that the measures are aimed at reducing migration from the 2022 figure of 7.45 lakh, which was the highest number till date.
We’re delivering on our promise to cut migration👇 pic.twitter.com/VhYTvudDdw
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) April 11, 2024
“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,” said Cleverly.
“I promised action and we have delivered at remarkable speed. We’ve acted to cut unsustainable numbers, to protect British workers and their wages, to ensure those bringing family to the UK do not burden taxpayers, and to build an immigration system fit for the future — and one the public can rightly have confidence in,” he added.
“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 minister said.
Family visas are required for those migrants who want to live with their spouse, fiancé, child, parent or other relative who has the right to live in the UK for more than six months.
The new thresholds are not applicable to those renewing the existing family visa, as per the UK Home Office.
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“The income requirement, which had remained unchanged for more than a decade, helps to ensure families are self-sufficient and not relying on public funds, whilst making a positive impact on the economy. The sponsoring family member, or in combination with the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work, must now have an income of at least GBP 29,000 earned in the UK. The requirement can be met in several ways, including through savings exclusively or in addition to a lower income,” it said, as per The Associated Press.
“The government’s ambition for a high-skill, a 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,” it added.
