UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has revealed that the government’s plan to raise the family visa threshold from £29,000 to £38,700 [approximately N80 million] has been put on hold.
This policy, initially set to take effect in 2025, was introduced earlier this year by former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as part of efforts to address high immigration.
The new administration has decided to delay the implementation of the proposed increase until a comprehensive review of the family visa policy is conducted by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).
Cooper confirmed that no further adjustments to the policy will occur until the independent review is completed.
The government has tasked MAC with evaluating the impact of restricting migrant workers from bringing family members to the UK and the implications of increasing wage thresholds.
The new UK government plans to reassess its approach to legal migration. The objective is to enhance the skills of the local workforce before turning to foreign recruitment.
Non-EU long-term migration surged from 277,000 from January to December 2022 to 423,000 from January to December 2023.
“This is why we are setting out a different approach – one that links migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies – so immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems here at home,” Cooper stated.
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