Britons earning under £38,700 face not living with foreign spouses under government plans
Home Secretary James Cleverly has introduced tougher visa rules for foreign workers, as Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen and Political Editor Robert Peston explains
Britons earning under the average salary face being unable to live with their foreign spouses in the UK under new migration rules.
UK citizens must be earning at least £38,700 to sponsor foreign family members wishing to live in the country, Home Secretary James Cleverly said.
He set out the policy, which is slated to be introduced next spring, in the wake of official estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed net migration as peaking at a record high of 745,000 in 2022.
There are instances in which Britons on lower salaries could bring their loved ones over if it is considered unduly harsh for a sponsorship to be denied, but this would be in exceptional cases, it is understood.
Other changes announced by Mr Cleverly include a drastically hiked salary threshold for skilled workers to £38,700, and an increase to the health surcharge this year by 66% - from £624 to £1,035.
The home secretary said the plans will help give the "biggest ever reduction in net migration", and, along with earlier proposals to limit relatives of foreign students, would bring down levels by 300,000.
Mr Cleverly criticised "abuses" of the visa system as he said "enough is enough" while unveiling the plans to the House of Commons on Monday.
The salary figure is lower than the £40,000 in the deal Rishi Sunak allegedly agreed with his since-sacked home secretary Suella Braverman to win her support for the Tory leadership.
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Privately, two sources said, Ms Braverman and immigration minister Robert Jenrick had pushed for the cap to go even higher, to £45,000.
The changes have raised concerns about how key roles, such as care workers, will be filled if migrants are either prevented or dissuaded from coming.
The general secretary of the Unison union, Christina McAnea, said the measures would be "cruel" and "disastrous" for the social care sector.
Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the strategy is "an admission of years of total failure by this Conservative government".
What is the government's five-point plan to cut immigration?
Stop health and care workers bringing dependants
Hike the skilled worker earnings threshold by a third to £38,700, in line with the median full-time wage
Scrap "cut-price" labour by stopping shortage occupations being able to pay 20% less than the going rate and reforming the shortage occupation list
Raise the minimum income for family visas to £38,700 from £26,200, from next spring
Ensure the Migration Advisory Committee reviews the graduate immigration route to prevent abuse.