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.

Have you ever, for a moment, considered why we need even more and more foreign nurses and why there are never enough?

Have you looked at this in conjunction with the population growth chart?

Maybe by some statistical freak event, @MumblesParty sees every single one of the successful adult dependent visa holders from the last five years through her work?

I think this debate isn't about race and immigration - it's about greedy employers and organisations wanting to recruit foreign workers on low wages and treat them badly with the "carrot" of permanent residency.

The NHS is one of the biggest overseas recruiters.

I'm British, living in Europe. Moved over in the early 2000s, way before Brexit. I have British kids and a European husband. I earn a good wage, him less so because he works part time to look after the kids. This ruling means I and my British children would be unable to live in the country where we are citizens.

Wow that's high.

It’s completely fucked the university sector. We can’t recruit post docs as it is, let alone lab staff. I also can’t think of anything more inflationary - salaries for UK graduates will go up as competition increases.

Well she earns a bit under 30k. They were going to live here or possibly buy a house (she has a deposit saved) and he was going to get a job. I think they assumed they’d have to get married for him to work here. Maybe he can get a work visa first and come over, I don’t know. He works in marketing, he has a degree. Which probably counts for nothing.

Well it baffles me too. But just last week I saw a man who works on minimum wage in a warehouse, who has lived in the UK for a couple of years. Earlier this year he was joined by his girlfriend, from their native country, who speaks no English and doesn’t have a job. She is now pregnant.

I also saw a couple in their 60s, both with multiple health problems that will require a lot of hospital treatment. They have just moved from their native country to join their daughter, who has a (low but not minimum wage) job.

It's depressing to see how many people think it's fair to deny people a family life. It's reasonable to expect people to be self supporting but the threshold is too high.

I met and married my DH while we were both living overseas in a third country. I had very little UK work experience when we moved back to the UK and my salary when we first moved back here to be nearer to my parents was pretty low, but we never claimed any benefits and we supported ourselves just fine. And my salary didn't stay low - I very soon increased my earnings substantially and we have been net contributors to the state for many years. Our dd is planning to be an NHS doctor and will likely become a net contributor too. And yet if this rule had been in place back when we moved, we'd have all ended up staying overseas and contributing our taxes there instead.

Bloody ridiculous that only the relatively better off will be entitled to a family life. Fuck this stupid government, I'm so ashamed to be British these days.

Have you ever considered why so many British nurses and Doctors are leaving the Uk?

It’s quite staggering that people simply don’t understand the economic of low skilled migration. No one earning under £38k is a net contributor. If we are importing people who are not net contributors, will need more people to come in and pay for them. And so the self perpetuating cycle continues.

Not only that, importing cheap labour lowers productivity. Instead of bringing people who work for less disincentivizes businesses from investing in automation. Low productivity is why UK economy is in so much trouble. And the root causes are low skilled mass migration and welfare topups for the indigenous population for whom work does not pay as well as benefits.

No, it’s not made up.

So you need to earn £38k to bring a dependant spouse?

Seems ok? I think some countries have pretty high thresholds

Ah, old trick of answering a question with a question.

All of this is possible if the main person living here is an EU citizen. Under EU law you could bring any dependant relative you wanted to (nationality irrelevant), and as part of the withdrawal agreement this was continued as long as the EU citizen was living in the UK before Brexit.

If the original person here is not an EU citizen, bringing their parents etc is absolutely impossible.

Yes. Sorry I should have clarified that the amount is the same but the proposals are for different cohorts. The skilled worker one is an economic migration policy decision which may or may not be sensible (there are arguments for both) but the spousal one is as I see it a human rights issue for British citizens who night not be able to live with the person who they love (and who will most cetaibly work here and won't be able to claim public funds on entry in any event) because they aren't rich enough. I can't see how the government can justify this when so many people earn less than that.

Her savings will count towards the shortfall.

Under current rules, any cash savings over £16,000 can be used to make up the shortfall. So if she makes £30k, then they need the other £8k, she needs £16k + 2.5 times the amount of the shortfall (so in her case, £20k).

Basically, if she makes £30k and has at least £36k saved, that will allow for the visa.

I just hope nurses are paid more than that soon enough otherwise this is another nail in the NHS coffin

DH and I are high earning first gen immigrants who have not taken a single penny from the state. It would still be almost impossible for us to bring our parents here ( not that I want to). I am always amazed at all the posts on MN saying that it is so easy for entire families to emigrate here and wander about not speaking English while sponging off the state.

I am currently in my home country, paying for medical treatment that I cannot get on the NHS ( despite paying that heavy surcharge). I think this will be a deathblow to the NHS. Good luck trying to attract doctors and nurses now, if they can't bring their families. I will continue to get my medical care elsewhere, and I expect medical tourism will become more common.

My niece's husband (from USA) has to pay £1,500 towards the NHS every year for for 5 years as part of his spouse visa. I don't think he has any rights to benefits. So it's not like spouses get free access to the NHS.

Another here who thinks it's fair.

The country can't support the people they've already got never mind adding more people. Problems with housing, NHS, dentists, school places. The country is full.

Yes that really isn't right.

They are not paying into the system and it has gone on too long

Thank you, she’ll probably be ok then.

I agree with it. Too many people are coming over on visas and either not working or claiming benefits. We need to protect our own first. You want to bring your spouse over that’s fine get a decent job paying what you need and do it if not tough.