Gherson Immigration Lawyers: Second to none: family reunification in the UK

As of 9 July 2012, the United Kingdom now has the second most stringent financial requirements of all major Western countries for those who wish to reunite with a non-European Economic Area (non-EEA) spouse or partner. Only Norway has a higher income threshold. In Impact Assessment HO0065, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has estimated that 45% of British citizens and those persons settled in the UK would not be able to meet the Immigration Rules’ new minimum income threshold of £18,600 per annum. This translates into 45% of non-EEA nationals no longer being able to successfully apply to enter or remain in the UK as a spouse or partner. The Migration Observatory of Oxford University approximates that, of British citizens in employment, 61% of women and 47% of all British citizens in employment will not qualify to bring in a family member under the new changes. 
The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) has produced an informative chart which compares and contrasts the approximate income required for British citizens and those persons settled in the UK to reunite with their spouse or partner. For British citizens and non-EEA citizens who are settled in the UK, i.e. the sponsor, who want to reunite with a non-EEA spouse or partner who is applying from outside the UK, it is the sponsor’s income alone that will be considered by the UKBA. To reunite with not only a spouse or partner, but also with children, the minimum income threshold of £18,600 increases with each child dependant...
Read more