scot47

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/putting-pr...7.html#99hRVBv

old.sparkles

Doesn't seem right to me - half of UK employees earn under £18600 maybe

rebeccajo

We participated (or tried to participate) in that study. An interesting aspect of of the study is that the data was not available from the Northern Ireland consituencies (my husband is from NI). So NI is not represented. IMO, that's relevant as it is pretty well known that wages in NI are lower than in mainland UK.

So I wonder how much more 'tipped' the figures might have been had NI been included.

mikelincs

I think yahoo news ofgen take thier lead from the DM, however we do have BE members who have fallen foul of the current regulations, and one other problem is that if the British Citizen moves to the UK to get the job to earn enough, then the UKBA often turn the partner back at the border if they want to come for a visit, again something that has happened to at least one BE member. They are currently in Malta waiting to excercise their EEA rights.

old.sparkles

Agree - I guess any press highlights the situation. Even worse when the UKC is the not-working half of a couple.

englishguygoinghome

The 47% figure is the offical one provided by (and to) the government when they brought in the changes. So whatever it's actual accuracy it is the nearest to an accepted fact that is available.

scot47

Anatole France -

La majestueuse égalité des lois, qui interdit au riche comme au pauvre de coucher sous les ponts, de mendier dans les rues et de voler du pain.

In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.

Foffion

The worst thing about this article are the comments. To read such evil things is depressing. I have lived in 3 different countries throughout my life and it has never crossed my mind to hate immigrants (especially because I am one of them ah ah), not even in my own country. Actually I have never thought about the immigration "problem" until I decided to go back to the UK (it is still not THE problem in my opinion). Nowadays people are very easily brainwashed.

Giantaxe

It's the casual racism in some of the comments I find disturbing.

mikelincs

The main problem with what is written is the headline, what it really means is that half the UK would be affected IF they lived abroad and had a non EU spouse, the vast majority of the UK are not affected, and never will be, because they do not fit into that category. Headline is just a little sensationalist. I do realise it is a major problem, particularly where the UK citizen is a wife with young kids, getting that sort of salary would be almost impossible without major family help with childcare.

WEBlue

Exactly. The vast majority of the British public don't understand exactly how the rules could interfere with their own enjoyment of their homeland UNLESS they are unlucky enough to fall in love with a non-EEA foreigner.

Back in 2012, after these new financial requirements came into being, I posted about the Economist magazine article 'Sons and Lovers' which estimated that 58% of Brits 20-30 years old would not be able to meet the new requirements to bring a foreign spouse to the UK, nor would 61% of British women of any age.

Family migration: Sons and lovers | The Economist