Do you think the new £38K income visa threshold for UK spouse visas is fair?

[zendeveloper]

It is set at the same level as for work visas.

Feels completely crazy to me, but then, I am also an immigrant (although the changes don't affect me), so probably too sensitive to the topic. Would be interesting to hear MN opinion.

you sound like Suella

If this spouse visa threshold had been in place when we married in 2015, DH and I would have been separated for 3 years as we married after graduating and it took that amount of time for DH to be settled in a 46k per annum job with 6 months payslips. In addition, once he was settled in that job, we proceeded to look to buy a flat in London and subsequently managed to buy the flat the next year (in 2019) on a combined household income of £75k (2 £38k salaries). We earn much more now but that was our level of earnings 3 years after DH graduated from his masters level course. Thankfully we didn't face this as we were part of the EU when we moved back to the UK and DH had exercised free movement in the EU.

Just let that sink in, the same spouse visa threshold that we are proposing is the same level of salary that allowed us to get a 85% mortgage to buy a london flat. Even the FT says that the London property market is an inheritocracy so presumably not something everyone can do. 2019 is not a million years ago either!

I think it's horrendous and felt sick when I read about it this morning. I'm a UK citizen and have been living in the EU with my EU husband and two dual-citizen children for the last few years. We've been planning to move back to Scotland in the long term, but following this news we've had to jump into trying to move as soon as possible, because we can't possibly meet the new income requirement.

This is more down to the nitty-gritty of the rules than the amount of money itself. When making the initial application for a spousal visa, the applicant's work earnings can only be taken into account if they are already legally in the UK with the right to work. This means that if the family has been living abroad, it falls to the UK spouse to evidence 38,700+ of income for the initial application.

In our case, I've been a SAHM and part-time self employed, so I have a very low income from work. My EU husband actually earns well above the income requirement from his own business, which he would continue to operate from the UK, but this is NOT ACCEPTED for the initial visa application because he does not currently have the right to work in the UK. Under the current income requirement, we are in the fortunate position that we'd be able to meet it through a combo of property rental income and savings, but once it goes up there's no chance. I'd have to find a job paying above the requirement, which would be nigh on impossible with my current work history - I've never earned that much even when I was working full time (and before anyone says 'just do better', I already have a master's degree). It's not like I can just move home by myself to job hunt or do further training in order to 'potentially' earn enough to get my spouse a visa - we have two toddlers to look after and no family help.

I am desperate to move home. We own our own house in Scotland, mortgage-free, and I want to train as a secondary teacher. We would have zero financial trouble. Our children are British citizens and both they and DH speak fluent English. And still, under these new rules, we will be shut out of our own country if we can't swing a move within the next few months. Some people seem to have no clue how stressful this is for families.

Oh, finally some rules affecting British people who are anti-immigration except for their own acceptable 'spouses' and their 'British kids'. Who knew.

I exclude anyone who is affected and is not racist (will only be a handful).

I am starting to like this new rule the more I understand it. Commonwealth citizens from whom the UK stole their wealth from their countries during colonialism have been discriminated for decades without anyone realising it was wrong. Karma, finally!

Brexit was also an equaliser when it came to the Commonwealth.

My concern is reserved for the elderly being left without (adequate) care and care workers.

I hope this wasn't directed at my post. 🤔 I am neither racist nor anti-immigrant, simply telling my own story to highlight how ridiculous these requirements are becoming. What on earth makes you say only a handful of those affected are not racist?

I think you'll probably find there is a lot of overlap between those with foreign spouses and those who oppose all our cruel migration laws. I personally would never take delight in any family being separated.

No one is taking any delight in any family being separated. Except it looks like this only causes uproar when it is semi 'British' families being separated and not other families.

Can you not see how racist your post makes you?

It's not clear who you're speaking to tbh, but if it's me, have you read all my posts? I'm not even going to defend myself, because if you had, you wouldn't be making that accusation.

Agreed, that's the issue.

People aren't being "imported to work on minimum wage". People are trying to have a life with their significant other within the United Kingdom?

You do realise that immigrants WANT to work when they get here. We cannot access a penny of benefits for years and spend years paying into services we are banned from using.

But do you think it's morally right that the only way a British citizen can have a life with a non-British person is if they earn £38k a year? So about 80% of the population must fall in love with a fellow Brit... otherwise they cannot have a relationship?

Er, this is a thread discussing the new legisation affecting spouse visas, i.e. spouses of UK citizens. So of course the posts are discussing the effect on 'semi British families'. Are you just trolling, seriously? How many elderly people do you think are going to be left without carers when their sons and daughters are unable to return from abroad with their foreign spouses?

hence the 'uproar' - only because it is 'semi-british' families.

I repeat, where was the uproar when it was other families?

Sons and daughters already abandoned their parents, so parents will cope.

£38,700 is nowhere near minimum wage. To put it simple, the requirement simply will make it that you have no right to marry or have a foreign partner if you earn below £38,700 and this is the problem because the threshold is above 2023 UK median salary so in the future it would be privilege the people who earn higher than average UK salary to live with foreign spouse/partner in UK. The median earnings of all female age group in UK are less than that, which means if you're women having UK median annual earnings, you cannot have a foreign spouse or partner unless you have something like £62,500 in cash by current requirement in your bank account for over 6 months. By having unreasonably high threshold, this will seem to create another gender discrimination.

'stop the boats' = Yes yes yes
'stop the boats' = stop semi British families.= Oh no, we didn't mean me, family, friend, canada, usa, australia etc

just like Brexit it seems

you couldnt make it up!

Mate, of course people in Britain will discuss families if Brits - the citizensmore than others and especially when they are affected by something. Same like people in China, USA, France, Sweden.. Any country. Ffs. Don't be stupid

People on this thread are discussing a legal immigration route to bring their partner/wife/husband to live with them in their home country.

What has this got to do with illegal immigration/asylum seekers?

TBH I think you're mixing up two very different groups of people, as those two views are largely incompatible. And not all of our spouses are from "Canada, USA, Australia etc"...
You come onto a thread about spouses, don't be shocked that that's what the discussion is focused on.

I'm married to a highly skilled immigrant. I think the threshold is entirely fair (and so does he, FWIW).

I also agree with the Ponzi scheme comment.

The internet is just amazing. Being accused of being anti-immigrant/racist because I'm stressed about a situation affecting myself (an immigrant in my current country) and my FOREIGN spouse (who is an immigration lawyer helping other immigrants). Because I have not expressed sufficient rage about rules affecting other families, in a thread relating specifically to UK spouses?

To quote: you couldn't make it up!

Go stir the pot somewhere else. You're shouting in the wrong place among those of us with immigrant family.

Brilliant. I assume that's because you meet the threshold? What about if you both didn't meet the threshold and were forced to make extremely difficult decisions, like if you had to leave the country to go to your partner's country?

Is that still fair? Or is it only fair in your eyes because the parameters set by the government suit your circumstances?

And the child will be considered British if born here and will have the right to public funds just as any other British citizen does, and if born outside of the UK can file for citizenship due to having a British parent.

I think it should be OK to have a spousal visa on less so long as that spouse isn't claiming benefits.
So long as you can support your spouse what does it matter what your income is.

According to this article, £38k is now the median salary in the UK:
https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/business/average-uk-salary-by-age/

Not for women it isn't. Or anyone under the age of 30. Or over the age of 60. Smells like discrimination to me.

Ah, how deep did you look into your article?

Average earnings:
Age: 18-21 £22,932
Age: 22-29 £30,316
Age: 30-39 £37,544
Age: 40-49 £40,040

So going by the article you have posted, only ONE age group in the UK will be eligible to bring their partners here, and they are aged between 40-49 years old. Everyone under the age of 40, statistically speaking, don't earn enough.

The new proposed threshold is £38,700. Even a pound less than this will result in an instant refusal by UKVI.

But if you meet someone after the age of 40, you are in luck. Sounds totally fair!