Ministers row back on salary threshold for family visa

The government has rowed back from increasing the earnings threshold for people who want to come to the UK on family visas to £38,700 a year.

Home Secretary James Cleverly had announced that someone who wanted to bring their partner or dependant to the UK would need to earn that amount.

But a document published on Thursday said the threshold would now be set at £29,000 "as part of an initial implementation".

The current figure is £18,600.

The move will take effect in the spring.

Ministers have been under pressure to tighten controls on legal migration after the number of people coming to the UK reached record levels in 2022.

Home Office minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom disclosed the new figure in a written statement to the House of Lords, saying: "Family life must not be established here at the taxpayer's expense and family migrants must be able to integrate if they are to play a full part in British life.

"The minimum income requirement has not been increased for over a decade and no longer reflects the level of income required by a family to ensure they are self-sufficient and do not need to rely on public funds."