UK Introduces Tougher Visa Rules

UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has unveiled a set of new rules aimed at curbing migration, BBC reports.

The UK is set to raise the minimum salary requirement for obtaining a skilled worker visa. Currently set at £26,000, the new threshold will be increased to £38,700.

Cleverly told parliament on Monday that the implementation of the rules in the previous year could have resulted in a decrease of 300,000 migrants annually.

BBC reports that those coming on health and social care visas will be exempt from the higher salary threshold.

But overseas care workers will no longer be allowed to bring dependents—that is, their partners and children.

The implication is that if a UK person marries a non-UK citizen, their new spouse will be unable to go to the UK to live with them until they earn £38,700.

According to the BBC, in 2022, the net migration in the UK, which represents the disparity between individuals immigrating to the country and those emigrating, reached a total of 745,000.

“We will ensure people only bring dependents whom they can support financially, by raising the minimum income for family visas to the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for Skilled Workers, £38,700,” he said.