New visa rules: Families say salary changes ‘totally impossible’

The Home Secretary has hailed new visa rules he claimed will “protect British workers”, but campaigners have accused the government of “punishing” families with the changes.James Cleverly said “mass migration” had reached a “tipping point” as fresh measures for spousal visas came into force.

From Thursday Britons will need to earn at least £29,000 a year, up from £18,600, to sponsor a loved one to come and live in the UK from abroad.

The wage threshold is set to rise to £34,500 later this year, and then again to £38,700 in early 2025.

Mr Cleverly said: “I promised action and we have delivered at remarkable speed. We’ve acted to cut unsustainable numbers, to protect British workers and their wages, to ensure those bringing family to the UK do not burden taxpayers, and to build an immigration system fit for the future – and one the public can rightly have confidence in.”

But campaigners argued the new regulations will “destroy the notion of the UK as a place where families can thrive”.

Businesses have also warned that raising the salary threshold will make it “much harder” for firms struggling to employ skilled staff.

Argentinian Eugenia Morales, 30, wants to join her husband Connor White in England but is unsure if she will be able to under the strict new rules.

The couple have been together for three years and have a seven-month-old baby daughter. Construction worker Mr White, who is based in West Sussex and has a daughter in England from a previous relationship, has been working extra hours at weekends to try and boost his income to the required amount to sponsor his wife.