U.K. Family Visa | Minimum income for British citizens to sponsor relatives increases by more than 55%  

New UK Family Visa income requirement increased by 55% to GBP 29,000, part of government's migration reduction measures.

The minimum income required for British citizens and residents, including those of Indian heritage, wanting to sponsor their relatives on a Family Visa increased by more than 55% from April 11, as the incremental increase in salary thresholds announced by the government last year are enforced.

Starting from April 11, for someone to be sponsored to come to the U.K. on a Family Visa, they must have a minimum annual salary of GBP 29,000, up from GBP 18,600. By early next year, this will have increased two more times to match the Skilled Worker visa salary threshold of GBP 38,700.

The U.K. Home Office said it marks the final measure in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary James Cleverly’s package to reduce legal migration and “ensure those arriving here do not burden the taxpayer”.

“We have reached a tipping point with mass migration. There is no simple solution or easy decision which cuts numbers to levels acceptable to the British people,” said Mr. Cleverly.

“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 U.K. do not burden taxpayers, and to build an immigration system fit for the future — and one the public can rightly have confidence in,” he said.

“Whether it was words unsupported by action, unfounded optimism or just plain wishful thinking that migration would fall on its own, indifference of any kind is never going to work – only determined action, backed by strong resolve, will deliver needed change,” the Minister added.

The move had been criticised by the Opposition when it was first tabled in the House of Commons in December 2023. It led the government to opt for a more staged approach to the salary threshold hike, rather than an immediate hike to GBP 38,700, as previously indicated.