AIBU to think the spouse visa income requirement should not be increased to £38k per year?

[Shardonneigghhh]

My post was moved to politics and activism, so I've amended it and added a poll to make it more suitable for AIBU. Thank you to everyone who already commented or signed the petition.

Can we talk about how the increased income requirement for spouse visas if affecting British citizens with a partner of a different nationality?

The policies it seem we're introduced to reduce the number of migrants, by preventing workers who come to the UK from bringing their family members with them.
This also affects British citizens who with to bring a spouse of family member to the uk to live with them.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9920/#:~:text=The%20spouse%2Fpartner%20visa%20minimum,report%20by%2014%20May%202024.

If someone falls in love with a non British person, and they want to live together in the uk, it is expected that the British person earns enough money to support their spouse without claiming any public funds. You have to evidence this when applying for a spouse visa, along with proving that your relationship is genuine. This minimum income requirement was £18,600, but was increased on April 11th to £29,000, with a further increase expected in 2025, to £38,000 per year.

This means that the British spouse will have to earn £38,000 in order to live together with their spouse in the uk. This income is out of reach for so many people. Basically if you are on a low income, you have no hope of your partner living with you in the uk. Women are often disproportionately affected by this as we learn less money overall, and if there are children to care for this may impact how much they can earn, bearing in mind if the husband is overseas he cannot look after the children while she works.

There is also a visa fee of £1846 and minimum nhs surcharge of £1035 per year (this is paid upfront to cover 3 or 5 years at point of application).

Please consider signing this petition.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/652602

@Kalevala iI’ve only been through the American immigration system as a spouse and it’s similar to the British one. No idea about other countries.

If the children have a British parent born in the UK, then they will be British by descent. So only the non British parent is the extra person and will usually be sharing a bed with their partner. It's only going to be more people if they are bringing non British children.

Do where do these families live? Separated?

Couples and families would have considered the previous income requirements.

If the income requirements were the same, relative to the CoL in that country. If one country raises their requirements they are essentially forcing their own low income citizens in mixed nationality families on the other country.

I think requirements (financial or otherwise) are generally higher in countries where there is a higher standard of living, because more couples of mixed nationality may prefer to live there - of course standard of living will be measured in different ways by different people, but will presumably include access to free/subsidised healthcare, education and so on.

I don't really understand what you are saying with that comment?

I lived in my partners country for 10+ years until a family member had a serious accident and i moved home to be closer to support my family. How can we know what future policies the gov will put in place. Lots of families with 1brit parent living in EU who thought they could return any time, no longer an option.

Being British by decent doesn't mean they already live here though.
Surely you can understand that a family will need more space/resource than a single person (or even a couple).

When they decided to become a couple or start a family they may have thought they could return to the UK based on the previous, much lower, income requirements.

Cynically, the tories want to get rid of "foreigners" by any means they can, to win votes. And if that means losing some Brits too...well they are poor and not likely to vote for them, and therefore expendable.

Right, but we all know that this sort of thing potentially isn't static, so it makes sense not to make assumptions.

They already have the right to live here, they aren't extra people. Only the applicant/s are.

No one was expecting it to double.

Given the current cost of living and concerns about ever tightening household budgets, how would someone on slower income be able to run a 2 adult household on less than the median wage? It’s fine to say families should be able to move to the UK if they want but spousal visa will usually include no recourse to public funds, so topping up a low income with benefits isn’t an option so how would someone on £19k or £29k make ends meet?

The NHS surcharge helps mitigate the idea that someone is moving here to access free health care, because they pay up front to access the care they might need.

Having the right to live here doesn't mean that they actually do live here though, thus they are extra people if/when they (well their parents) decide to come and live here. They are people who need somewhere to live in the UK who didn't previously need somewhere to live in the UK before, if they are moving here.

I have no idea what other people were expecting it to do, but I honestly wouldn't expect it to stay static either!

@Jellycatspyjamas

Currently I live in the uk as a single parent. I claim benefits to top up my income. If my (future) husband was able to move here, he would be working too and my household would not longer require benefits. It would actually cost the government less. He would also pay an nhs surcharge, and NI from his wages.

Erm, falling in love with someone from another country WHOM YOU CAN AFFORD TO SUPPORT without access to public funds is surely the minimum required. You don’t have to be rich, you just need to make sure you can stand on your own 4 feet.

A salary of £38k isn’t rich, it’s a normal salary and I wouldn’t even say it’s enough to support two people in some areas of the country. There has to be a line drawn somewhere, and it needs to be high enough for people not to need benefits and be able to support themselves and their partner.

Stunned anyone is trying to argue 38k between two is Rich.

A friend is in a similar situation, already here with a British child, claiming UC top ups as a single parent. Her partner will have no problem finding work either when he is able to join her.

How many people do you know that actually support their partner for a long time? They come and get a job in the majority of cases

Then they should habe, 38 is a sensible number,

I hope you are able to be reunited soon.
However, what is stopping him from working where he is and contributing to your household now?