IMPORTANT VISA INFORMATION

We have now seen one of the proposals released with greater information, and it concerns the proposal for sponsor’s in the UK ( the husband, wife or partner ) to have a minimum income before they can sponsor their spouse or partner for a visa. The proposed minimum level(s) are quite startling, I think, and will, according to various studies, possibly exclude almost two thirds of potential sponsors from supporting an application on the grounds that they don’t earn enough.

Here is some detail : The Government’s plan massively to increase the minimum income threshold required to sponsor family members to the UK has come one step closer with the publication of a report by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).  The MAC is proposing the introduction of a minimum gross (i.e. before tax) income threshold of at least £18,600 and perhaps as much as £25,700. The MAC assumes that this threshold excludes possible future income from the spouse entering the UK – which means that the figures are proposed minimum incomes for the UK-based sponsor alone. Both figures, but particularly the higher one, are based on a huge range of assumptions.

The MAC also estimates that 45% of current applicants would not meet the lower income threshold and 64% of current applicants would not meet the higher threshold. Last year, the average income in the UK was around £26,000. It is estimated that half the UK’s working population would be excluded from sponsoring family members by the higher of the two proposed thresholds.

As the MAC recognise in the report, there would be a significant bias against applicants from Scotland and the north of England, where average incomes are lower. There would therefore be a bias in favour of migration to the London area. The figures cited also assume that there are no children or dependents in the household, and the MAC proposes a multiplier formula to address this issue, meaning that much higher thresholds might be introduced for those with children. The basis of calculation for the two proposed figures of £18,600 and £25,700 is very different, so it is not really a question of the Government picking a number somewhere between the two – it will likely be one or the other.

The lower figure is based on the MAC’s opinion on income level required not to receive any benefits including tax credits. The higher figure is referred to as the ‘net fiscal impacts approach’, which uses a broader interpretation of the concept of burden on the state. There will no doubt be more news to follow on this subject. There is no timescale for the introduction of the income threshold, but given David Cameron’s support for the idea it may be introduced quite soon.  Watch this space !!!!!!!! 

 Here’s an interesting tidbit. In South Africa the UKBA has introduced a “priority visit visa application service”.  This is what UKBA in South Africa says: “The additional service allows UK visitor visa applicants in South Africa to pay an additional fee to have their application processed ahead of others. The service is optional, however only a limited number of priority services will be available each day on a first-come, first-served basis. The priority visa service is provided through VFS Global and costs an additional GBP53.

Globally, UK visitor visa applications usually take 15 working days, although South African applicants have normally had to wait only five working days. The new priority visa service will give an even quicker turnaround time, although a guaranteed turnaround time wasn't specified.

We turn around most visa applications very quickly, but inevitably some people have to travel at the last minute, and this priority service will speed up the process even further."

Who says it’s not all about generating income ?  You always were able to ask for an expedited visa if you had urgent or compassionate reasons for a visa to be issued. Now it looks like they will make you pay for it.  No doubt it will be introduced here soon too.