UK announces changes to minimum income requirement for family visas for Nigerians, others

The United Kingdom government has increased the minimum income requirement for family visas to 29,000 pounds.

Residents or immigrants earning below the amount will no longer be allowed to bring families into the country.

The new requirement is contained in a statement released by the UK Home Office on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

The statement states that the salary threshold for a family visa is expected to increase to about 38,700 pounds by 2025.

The government stated that the decision was to ensure that people brought only those they could financially support to the UK.

The increase is 61% from the former threshold of 18,000 pounds and is part of the UK’s sweeping changes to slash migration numbers, which rose to a record level in 2023.

Net migration increased to 745,000

According to reports, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that net migration to the UK stood at 745,000 in 2022, up from 184,000 in 2019 before the pandemic. An influx of non-EU citizens also drives this migration policy.

The UK’s Home Office secretary, James Cleverly, said the move is a fair and firm approach. The decision was first announced in December 2023 and is the final step in what the country considers the biggest ever drop in legal migration.

The decision also led to the country banning international students and care workers from bringing dependents and raising the skilled worker visa salary threshold by 48%.

Cleverly said: “Taken together, the measures we’ve introduced will radically reduce legal migration. 300,000 people who arrived in the UK last year would no longer be eligible to do so under these new rules.”

Nigerians in the UK are affected by the new rule

Analysts believe that the move could cause some issues for Nigerians living in the UK who hope to bring family and dependents into the country.

The government also implemented a 9.2% raise in the national minimum wage in April last year.

The move, however, falls below the thousands of pounds required for minimum salary earners.

Reports say the average Nigerian over 23 working in the UK is entitled to a minimum pay of about 10.42 pounds per hour, resulting in an estimated annual income of 21,789 and 26,200 pounds for skilled workers.

The figure falls 7,000 pounds below the threshold.