Minimum income requirements
 

Sign Petition: Allow British families to stay together by removing minimum income req
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Petition requires 100,000 signatures before the government will debate it and 10k to respond. So far, there's just under 7,000 - let's spread the word in case it helps improve visibility for some of us!

If any of you are active on social media, this would be a great thing to promote and sharing options are available on the petition page.


https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/107958

Deadline is 11 March, 2016 - let's do this!

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

from the other thread below, will this thread also get closed ?

http://britishexpats.com/forum/movin...me-req-866299/

My opinion on the OP is that the UK government will not change anything pertaining to the income requirement for family of a settled person visa category.

I for one would leave it as 'it is', I would even endorse raising the limit to 100k

Remember the [fight for] an indexed state pension for those living in the colonies, which was squashed by the European Parliament - so, fat chance the UK government will reverse the high income requirement for 'family of a settled person'

So we have the Surinder Singh for now

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Surely you don't mean the INCOME limit should be raised to 100k - do you? Savings limit, maybe?

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Really?

You may not have seen me commenting on this issue before.

My income in retirement is way above UK means tested levels. I have two modestly priced houses in Canada, as you know, and the money raised from selling would easily pay for a suitable home in the UK.

My wife died earlier this year but when this legislation was introduced it was obvious that although I could have provided a UK home, still had a tidy sum in the bank and have an income high enough to rule out any need for benefits, I would have been unable to live in the UK with my Canadian wife of many years because the threshold was too high.

And you want to raise it further? :eek:

Of course I could have sold up here and then kept the money in the bank and qualified under the savings exception.

But then there's that small matter of where we'd live and how to pay for it. I know, rent somewhere.

Oh hang on though, that means I'd have to start using the capital to pay for rent.

Guess what. When that capital is significantly reduced and I'm no longer in a position to buy a home because it's been going on rent, I then become due Housing Benefit.

So the system to discourage benefit reliance would have prevented me coming back with my wife even though there would have been no need for benefits except for the exception that would have created a need for benefits where none need have existed.

That's really screwed up.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

I posted on the other thread, and the fact is that the oly way the threshold will be reduced is by it being taken through the supreme court and the government ordeered to lower it. With the current debate in the UK over immigration and the fact that the figures are far too high according to the government, then it's unlikely that any thing will get done.
I fully sympathise with those unable to return to the UK, but they are stuck between a rock and a hard place in the current climate.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

It shouldn't be viewed as an immigration issue though. It's about Brits returning to their country and being able to do so with their loved ones.

It would have been easy to exempt those married for a minimum period or even to look at the reasons for return.

I mean, supposing someone was returning to care for an ageing or sick parent? And the fact they are prevented from returning means they can't care for their parent who then needs residential or nursing care at a far greater cost to the country.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Great post, and one I fully agree with :thumbup:

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Can't sign yet as I'm still in Australia, but the minute I arrive in the UK (4 November!) I'll sign :thumbup:

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

I LOVE this post! And totally agree.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

But don't forget Scouse can sign now :thumbsup:

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

I didn't know that curleytops, I thought you had to physically in the UK and our ISP address would give us away! I'll get Scouse onto it in the morning :thumbup:

He's fast asleep dreaming good British dreams, while I've just finished the nightmare also known as UK online spouse visa application :blink:

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

oops, that's correct - savings limit 100K, income limit 25k

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

What's your justification for those amounts? Just asking ;)

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

on the OP, why was it the government changed the rules in 2012 & introduced what is now in place?

Someone, somewhere must have done this for a reason & purpose?

Of course as Bristol mentioned there could have been other options or provisions made for particular circumstance - then again, where do you draw the line.

I stick with savings limit increase as well as income increase from where it is now.

You can have a go at me, re-write the legislation... but you know what, IMO the UK doesn't want non EU spouses coming in & will IMO continue to make it tougher.

At some point, should the UK get its way, they will abolish the 'Surinder Singh' route.

An EU exit vote will fix everything

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

I wasn't having a go at you, I was interested in why/how you came up with those particular amounts. Otherwise it just looks like an arbitrary figure you pulled out of mid-air.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Cheap anti-immigration vote winner. Screw the consequences.

The daft thing is that a couple of the injustices have made the daily mail and there has been suitable outrage because it's Brits that suffer, hence my comment about it not really being an immigration issue.
Villains have escaped deportation because of the right to family life. How can it be 'right' that the family of a Brit can only be together as long as it isn't in the UK?

It's a cliché to say this but it's really not 'British' is it?

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

From what I had read in 2012 when they introduced this it was in part to discourage families from sending young women back to the parents home country and forcing them in to marriages then importing the new husband and then his extended family to UK. Most young women aren't earning that kind of money and many were being kept at home so did really earn anything.
I think a better rule would be for people living abroad in long term marriages (maybe over 7 years) not earning that amount or with one spouse even if it;s the non EU one is able to earn that amount. Should be allowed to settle.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

I reposted the information about the petition from a thread closed by Jerseygirl, because the OP didn't use the BE forum much. I do use the forum a lot, and I thought the topic was worth discussing. After all, a substantial amount of the discussion on this forum is concerned with the rules, either meeting them, or getting round them using the Surinder Singh route.

For what it is worth, I do think that there is a possibility of getting the law changed, and it is worth signing the petition. I agree that the strength of the anti-immigration lobby (when is it ever weak?) is an obstacle, but this law affects British citizens, including members of the armed forces who have served abroad, and is manifestly illogical and unjust.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

I signed the petition, and had also signed a few others on the same subject. I suspect that, in the long run, it may have some slight effect, but I wouldn't want to bet on it.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

It's a shame there was nowhere to make comments. I've seen petitions before where one could do that.

I'd be tempted to write something like like "now that my Canadian wife of nearly 11 years has died I don't have this difficulty anymore. I will of course look for a replacement EU wife to bring in as the UK government will happily accept her (or him)."

That might show it for the farce it is.

http://forums.hyundaicoupe.info/imag...lies/notme.gif

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

The legislation was clearly aimed to prevent arranged marriages in the Asian communities of Britain. It had unintended consequences that the Mandarins drafting it never thought of.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

The mandarins are lemons :frown:

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

The current limit it pathetically low. I am not suggesting it should be increased, but it is barely more per week than I was earning labouring in a warehouse more than 25 years ago.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Maybe they have to pay Lt Cols more than ordinary folk ?

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

But it is only two thousand pounds below the average UK household income.

More to the point, it is the income that has to be earned by the British citizen and ignores what could be earned by their partner, who could be potentially high earning. IMO it discriminates against British expats who are the carer or homemaker in their relationship, which category will include more women than men.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

One warehouse job I had, West Kent Cold Store. When I started, the old lags told me, don't try to steal any food and take it home. If you're caught, you'll lose the job. BUT it is OK to take a Sara Lee cheesecake for lunch, but you have to eat the whole thing. I only did that once, I felt so sick all afternoon...

(Yup, I probably got wages there as well..)

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Similar for me, re eating and stealing. I worked for United Biscuits (McVities, Crawfords, KP, Terry's). They used to supply packets from broken boxes to eat in the break room, so we didn't need to eat whole packets.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

That number is distorted for several reasons, not least by households where there is only one working adult, by those claiming benefits or on pensions, and in most of those cases, they won't be importing a spouse.

I have just been to check the uk.gov tax data, and £18,000 is the 40th percentile for individual income in the UK for 2012-13. And then the income requirement for spouse visa is reduced by savings. So surely most people have some savings, or equity in a house, or even some pension savings they could cash-in, to further reduce the income requirement? But say what you like, the current threshold is not a high bar to reach.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

The average full-time wage in the area I live in is £20,280. So, most people in Devon find that bar too high.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

"Average" is a tricky concept. Remember mean and median ? remember how one mnillionaire's income will distort the pattern ?

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

All of which was pointed out well in advance of the legislation being passed with ample time to make adjustments.

and also ignores that the spouse may already have income with which to support the Brit.

In the circumstances in my earlier post the income I mentioned could just as easily have been that of my wife. And it may have been double the limit but it wouldn't have counted.

Yes, if you completely ignore the facts in my earlier post.

The fact is it is way higher than the levels of income the government sets as enough. It's higher than the government pays many of its own employees.

And those with equity from a house - as mentioned in my earlier post - what do they live in if they cannot use that money for housing themselves?

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

I read your earlier post and you are obviously determined to "prove" that the income threashold is too high. I do not agree and presented some counter arguments.

Anyway, I wasn't suggesting necessarily using all of the equity but just £15,000 of savings would mitigate almost a quarter of the income requirement. Even a full state pension and an occupational pension could easily be enough.
Other than proving that the British government is relatively generous in supporting the low paid, and that some government employees are themselves low paid, I don't think that has any relevance to the income/capital thresholds for importing a spouse.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Importing a spouse? I feel like a wheel of mouldy old cheese now.

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

It really is just a number, low, mid, average, not enough, too much, too little to the 'living wage' based on 2000 working hours per year. Live in London or some small town UK, regionally there is a big difference in cost of living or expectations

What is the Living Wage?  Living Wage Foundation

"The living wage is now set at £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 an hour in the rest of the UK. By comparison, the national minimum wage is significantly lower. Since October 2014, the national minimum wage has been £6.50 an hour for adults aged 21 and over, and £5.13 for those aged 18 to 20."

or, if you are eligible for it, the 'pension credit' plus all the other top up's that go with it

https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit

"Pension Credit is an income-related benefit made up of 2 parts - Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit.

Guarantee Credit tops up your weekly income if it’s below £151.20 (for single people) or £230.85 (for couples).

Savings Credit is an extra payment for people who saved some money towards their retirement, eg a pension."

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

:lol:

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Don't you be laughing Mrs, you have your own mouldy old cheese wheel to deal with yet :lol:

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

Indeed I do :) However, I was lolling at your amusing comment itself, and not as it pertains to a self-description :)

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

I know you were love, although truth be told I'm feeling a bit like that moudly old import today :lol:

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

That's fine. But if people fail to reach the threshold (and it's not just me, there are others that even the Mail has publicised) even though they have sufficient resources to not be entitled to benefits let alone rely on them, then surely the point that the threshold is too high IS proven isn't it?

But not being able to use even a part of one's equity for house purchase could render the capital insufficient for house purchase.

Yes it could. In my case it wouldn't meet the threshold but would exceed benefit levels. How much more clear does this have to be?

Ignoring the risible first part of that nonsense, we have a government setting a level of income that someone should have and thus avoid the need for benefits and then pays it's employees a lower amount. Duh!

He's just being as provocative as his avatar. :nod:

He knows how to push buttons. :(

Re: Minimum income requirements
 

If there needs to be a threshold, then why does the significant other need to bear the burden alone?
Why not consider funds from the applying partner/spouse and other family members. Maybe place the money into some type of government escrow account for x number of years as a security that would be used in cases of hardship and medical issues etc.
Maybe impose some kind medical and hardship insurance?

I think there are other ways that immigration could be handled rather than a one size fits all.