The immigration white paper – Family
The UK government published their expected immigration “white paper” which contains some proposals for future legislation. Please note that the law has not change. The “white paper” is a document which sets out the government’s proposals to change the existing legal framework.
A summary of some of the proposals in the family route are below. On separate posts I will refer to the proposals which could affect students, skilled workers, those applying for nationality and enforcement, compliance and deportation.
Family Route
- Partners. The minimum income threshold to bring a partner was raised from £18,600 to £29,000 in April 2024 and the government is considering increasing it to firstly to £34,500 and secondly to £38,700. We do not know when and if this change will take place but the “white paper” mentions that the government has “already commissioned the MAC to look at the financial requirements on family routes”. If the increase happens, this should be taking place after June 2025.
- Overstayers and visitors. The white paper says “we will set out a clear framework to be endorsed by Parliament for those seeking to enter or stay in the UK, including on the basis of exceptional circumstances…
This framework will also seek to limit successful claims from those who seek to:
- get round the rules, for example by falsely claiming an intention to come to the UK as a short-term visitor, and then seeking to stay on the basis of family relationships.”
We do not have a clear picture of the proposed changes yet but people who could be impacted are those who entered the UK clandestinely or overstayed their visas or are here as visitors and seek to stay on the basis of exceptional circumstances such as having a British child, being the elderly parent of a British national, having a long resident in the UK, etc.
- English language. The white papers mentions that the government will “ensure those coming to the UK have an appropriate level of English language skills”. They may consider increasing the level of English needed for some applicants or even impose a new English requirement in some cases.
- Suitability Rules. “We will also explore tightening our Suitability Rules on the family routes, to ensure people are of the good character we expect”. It is also unclear who could be affected by these changes but a group that comes to my mind are people who overstayed their visas and then return to their countries to make applications as partners of British or settled nationals.
We will need to wait and see what the specific changes in the rules are but my advice is that those who are in a position to apply for a family visa, or to regularise their immigration status, do it sooner rather than later.
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