The Government announced late last year that they would be increasing the financial requirement for applications made for family visas. Such a huge increase has understandably caused great concern for those intending to make an application in the future and those who are currently in the UK with a family visa.
Presently, the financial requirement for a spouse visa is that the sponsor must be earning £18,600 per year. The government was intending to increase this to £38,700 per year all at once.
When making the announcement, little information was provided as to what would happen to those who are currently on visas in the UK when they need to apply for an extension.
The announcement faced a huge backlash among much of the public, and a petition was submitted requesting that the government don’t increase the financial requirement. This petition stated that most people in the UK do not earn so much money and that people are being punished for falling in love with someone of a different nationality.
The petition, which has gathered over 40,000 signatures so far, can be found here.
The Government has responded to the petition by finally outlining more details about the family visa salary threshold increase.
What are the stages of the salary threshold increases?
- The Government intends to increase the salary threshold but will do so in stages. The first stage being Spring 2024
- In Spring 2024 the minimum income threshold will be increased to £29,000.
- A further increase will be to £34,500, a date yet to specified.
- A final increase to £38,700 will be set in early 2025.
- There no longer will be a child element to the minimum income requirement
- For those who are currently on family visas, when going for their extension applications, the current financial requirements will apply, not the increased amount.
This will put many currently on spouse visas at ease knowing that they will not be affected by the changes.
Although the announcement of the staggered increases are welcomed, these changes are scheduled to take place within a very short timeframe, with the final increase being scheduled for early 2025. We will keep you updated on any changes or updates on this.
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