Wednesday, 20 February 2019

Campaign response – Please scrap the Minimum Income Requirement and bring families together


Recently a number of constituents have written to me about their concerns for the minimum income requirement British citizens must earn in order to be able to bring their non-EEA spouses to join them in the UK.

Since July 2012 the UK’s Immigration Rules have required non-EEA nationals to satisfy a financial, ‘minimum income’ requirement in order to secure a visa to join a British/settled spouse or partner in the UK.

Though the government at the time contended that financial requirement supports integration and prevents a burden being placed on the taxpayer, since the introduction of the minimum income requirement, there have been several legal proceedings against it.

In 2017 the Supreme Court found that the minimum income requirement is acceptable in principle. It ruled that the government policy strikes a fair balance between the interests of those wishing to sponsor a spouse to settle in the UK and of the community in general. It ensures that taxpayers are not required to support those settling in the UK on Family visas and the policy promotes integration.

However the Court did require the Government to make some changes to the Immigration Rules and associated policy guidance.

Amended Immigration Rules and policy guidance came into effect on 10 August 2017.

Since then, if an application cannot meet the financial requirement through the five sources specified in the Immigration Rules, decision-makers are instructed to consider whether there are “exceptional circumstances” which could or would render a refusal decision a breach of human rights (ECHR Article 8).

If the decision-maker considers that refusal would result in a breach of the Article 8 rights of a relevant party, they must grant the application, even if the financial requirement is not met.

Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes has said in response to Parliamentary Questions on this subject: “We continue to keep the family Immigration Rules under review and make adjustments in light of feedback on their operation and impact.”

I fully understand the strength of feeling in this matter and I have always made the case that at the Home Office needs to take into greater consideration the interest of the family in its immigration decisions.

I will continue to monitor closely the impact the minimum income requirement has on families in the constituency and speak up in support of them where possible.