New £38,700 visa rule will be introduced in early 2025, says Rishi Sunak

Plans requiring people to earn £38,700 a year before bringing family to the UK will be introduced in early 2025, Rishi Sunak has said.

The rise from the current £18,600 level was announced earlier this month and had been scheduled for spring 2024.

However, the government has rowed back and now says the increase will come in two stages.

Next spring, the threshold will rise to £29,000, with the further increase not applying until the following year.

Speaking in Lincoln, Mr Sunak defended the timetable, saying: "The principle here is absolutely right that if people are bringing dependents into this country as part of their family, they must be able to support them.

"We're doing exactly as we said we would. We're just doing it in two stages. So it will go up in a few months time and then it will go up again the full amount in early 2025."

He also said: "The levels of migration are far too high. They've got to come down."