If you are in a relationship with a person from abroad and wish for them to come and live with you in the UK, you need to apply for a spouse visa. To be successful in the application for a Spouse visa, there are a number of requirements that you must satisfy.
At this moment in time, one of those requirements is that your sponsor (British or settled) must earn at least £18,600 per year. This has been the requirement since 2012, which is when appendix FM to the immigration rules was first introduced.
This earning threshold is easier to meet with the current minimum wage in the UK for a full-time worker being £18,964, working 35 hours per week (Gov.UK).
However, the Home Office has announced that from Spring 2024, they will be increasing the minimum earning requirement to £38,700. This is likely to cause significant obstacles for those wishing to be reunited with their family members. The requirement will be considerably higher for those who have children that are not British or Settled.
Will the new requirements affect spouse visa extension applications?
It is presently undecided as to whether the new income requirement of £38,700 being introduced in Spring 2024 will affect those currently in the UK on a spouse visa when they go for renewal. Initially it was announced that the new change would affect those already seeking to extend their visa with the Prime Minister stating that people have a set length of time for their visa, and there are no guarantees that they can stay in the UK after.
However, the UK government backtracked yesterday as they have announced that they are currently looking at how the new income requirements will apply to those renewing their visas. They said that they would provide an update in due course.
Our advice
We will keep you updated on any new announcements made. In the meantime, our advice is simple, apply now for your partners to join you in the UK, we expect the changes to take place in March / April 2024 and therefore there are still 3 months to apply.
For all those who are due to extend your visa next year, please note that you can apply to extend your visa up to 28 days before the expiry.
If you are concerned that you do not meet all the requirements presently, then please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your options.
Have questions? Get in touch today!
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