Vialto Partners Statement on the UK Government’s Minimum Income Requirements for Overseas Families

LONDON & NEW YORK—December 11, 2023—On December 11, Vialto Partners, a leading global mobility firm dedicated to helping people and employers navigate immigration, tax, and social security services around the world, respectfully encourage the Home Office to:

• Urgently rethink and clarify their plans to raise the minimum income requirement for visa applications of overseas spouses or partners; and
• Carefully consult employers before increasing salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas, as this would likely deprive employers of business-critical skills that are in short supply in the UK labour market and could cause graduate recruitment programmes to be scaled down or moved from the UK, at a potential cost to UK graduates.

On 4 December 2023, the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, announced plans to change the immigration rules, increasing the minimum income requirement for sponsoring a spouse or partner from £18,600 to £38,700. The minimum income requirement is already controversial and reports suggest that the new threshold will exclude 70% of the public from sponsoring a loved one.

The policy could prevent more spouses, partners and children from living together as a family. Reports suggest that the existing salary threshold already causes significant harm to adults and children by forcing families to live apart, and this new policy will exacerbate the situation. In addition, long and drawn-out legal challenges seem inevitable, which could further add to the uncertainty that families face. The current minimum income requirement was endorsed by the courts because it had been introduced as ‘a legitimate aim’ of protecting public finances and the figure was set by the independent Migration Advisory Committee, a body considered by the Supreme Court to be ‘a model of economic rationality’. The new policy will undoubtedly be challenged on the grounds that the salary threshold is given the same careful consideration and analysis. In particular, women, whose median salaries never exceed the new threshold, may be disproportionately affected and proves to be a serious concern.

We also call on the Home Office to urgently clarify the detail of the policy that is being proposed, specifically:

• When the change will take effect, so that families can understand whether they will have time to apply for a visa before the change, in order to be reunited;
• Whether it will apply to applications that are submitted but have not been considered before the policy changes;
• Whether it will apply to families who are already living in the UK, at the point they apply for an extension or permanent residence; and
• Whether the requirements for permanent residence will also be changed which might take longer, make it more difficult, become more expensive, or become impossible for families already here to continue to live together in the UK.

The employers we speak to every day are concerned about the impact of increasing the minimum salary for a Skilled Worker visa by 33% to £38,700. The government has every right to work towards a higher skilled, higher wage economy, but it will take time. In the meantime, this policy will exclude many of the workers that sponsors hire to fill vacancies that cannot be filled locally. It will be a particular challenge for skilled non-graduate jobs and graduate roles that do not pay £38,700. The Government has accepted that they cannot immediately find skills locally or increase salaries for public sector workers by excluding the health and care sector from the increase. They should recognise that private sector employers have the same challenges.

The issue is of particular concern to employers with graduate programmes that mix local and overseas talent. It is still not clear to what extent minimum salaries will rise for graduates (if at all), how much they will need to earn to remain for over three years, or the requirements for permanent residence.

Employers need to see the details of the proposed policy so they can plan their 2024 workforce strategy and graduate intake. Many employers are worried that their plans may need to drastically change. They need reassurance that the new salary threshold will not apply retrospectively, which could prevent valued colleagues from extending their stay in the UK and create the possibility that they need to leave their current employers and/or the UK altogether.

Ian Robinson, Immigration Partner with Vialto Partners, said:

“The Home Office is responsible for managing migration and is entitled to take steps to reduce numbers, but these should be proportional. Separating families or causing labour market shocks should not be the solution.

“The minimum income requirement already forces families to live apart for extended periods and, in some cases, permanently. It needs to be urgently reconsidered; but even if the Home Office chooses to reject concerns and increase the minimum income requirement, it at least needs to be clarified. Families need to know when it will happen, who it will apply to, if it will be applied retrospectively, and what it will mean for permanent residence.

“We do not believe that the Home Office would deliberately separate families already living in the UK, but we know that many families are worried. If the Home Office will persist with the policy, we urgently need confirmation that the policy will only apply to spouses who will make applications from next spring.

“Changes to salaries for skilled workers also need more time and consultation. Employers don’t take the decision to sponsor workers lightly, it is slower and far more expensive than recruiting locally. The Home Office should understand that employers cannot simply pivot to recruit locally when this change is introduced – they are recruiting from overseas because locals aren’t readily available. Nor can they immediately increase wages, especially in certain regions outside of London where the median salary is far below that of the newly proposed income threshold. This is likely why the Government has excluded the health and care sector and they should afford private sector employers the same flexibility.”

About Vialto Partners
Vialto Partners is a market leader providing globally integrated solutions supporting global workforce mobility, including immigration, tax, managed services, and digital solutions. As a trusted advisor of compliance, consulting and technology services to multinational corporations, the firm solves complex, cross-border workforce mobility challenges to ensure its clients and their employees have a consistent and compliant global mobility experience. To learn more, visit www.vialtopartners.com.

Contact

Jennifer Homa
Senior Vice President, Corporate Practice, BCW
Jennifer.Homa@bcw-global.com
Tel: +1.917.716.0755