ILR 2024 changes

Hi everyone,

Hoping for some help as I am in panic mode!

We have seen that the financial requirements for the spousal visa and ilr have increased for 2024.

For context my wife is an American citizen and has lived here since October 2018. We did the finance visa and then the spousal visa X 2 by this point. Her first spousal visa was 29th March 2019 (that’s when it was approved and we got all the paperwork).

My questions are:

Has the savings required changed I believe it used to be £34,600 for ILR.

Secondly when would she be able to apply with her first spouse visa being approved in March as im aware the first 6 months on the fiancé visa basically don’t count.

Since she has lived here we have bought a house and started a family (9 month old baby) I’m really anxious because we now don’t meet the minimum financial requirement from my job which I have seen is going up (she’s a stay at home mum). However, if the savings haven’t changed we do still meet that.

I’m very sorry for the ramble post but I’m panicking! Any help or advice would be beyond greatly appreciated!

Politics aside, I'm not sure in practice how this change is going to work for those who are somewhere along the Spouse -> FLR -> ILR process if they are between the current £18,600 requirement and the incoming £38,700 requirement. It's one thing having a small increase but this is a 20K increase. Maybe the increase will commence at the initial Spouse visa stage, otherwise you could find a number of people in limbo if they cannot match this new value.

I think it's worth waiting a few days to see how this pans out for ILR.

I wouldn’t panic just yet as we don’t know how the new requirement will be implemented yet.

The last time they increased the spousal visa income requirement (from no official minimum income to £18,600 in July 2012), it only applied to people who were applying for their first Fiance or spousal visa, while those who already held a fiancé/spousal/FLR(M) visa issued before July 2012, under the previous requirements, were not affected and were allowed to qualify for their subsequent FLR and/or ILR visas by meeting the old income requirements.


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Politics aside, I'm not sure in practice how this change is going to work for those who are somewhere along the Spouse -> FLR -> ILR process if they are between the current £18,600 requirement and the incoming £38,700 requirement. It's one thing having a small increase but this is a 20K increase. Maybe the increase will commence at the initial Spouse visa stage, otherwise you could find a number of people in limbo if they cannot match this new value.

I think it's worth waiting a few days to see how this pans out for ILR.

I’m just reading the news articles and an increase to £38,700 is ridiculous.

The 2023 average UK salary for full-time workers is only £34,963, so how on earth is the average person supposed to qualify to sponsor a visa?!

I’m a scientist with 2 masters-level degrees, and I have been in my current civil service job for 13 years, yet my base salary does not meet this new requirement. Even if I get the promotion I’ve just applied for, I would still be a few hundred pounds short of the requirement. Not even the scientists with PhDs who work in my government department would be able to meet this new income requirement to sponsor a spousal visa !


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That's the point. They want to cut the numbers.

That's the point. They want to cut the numbers.

I know they do, but that kind of increase just seems way too extreme… it’s preventing something like 75% of the working population from being able to bring their foreign partner to the UK.

In 2012, the average UK salary was about £26,000 and the income requirement was set at £18,600 (70% of the average salary).

In 2023 they want to increase the requirement to 110% of the average salary!

I admit I’m surprised they haven’t increased it before now, but I would expect it to go up to a figure maybe between £25,000 and £30,000… not almost £40,000!


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There's been no mention of any changes to ILR. We'll just need to wait & hear more about this as there are many unanswered questions.

The increase is just absurd, things are tough as they are but this is just going to send people over the edge.

Nearly £40k! 🤦‍♂️

I came here to comment, we're in the same boat.

My wife has been here since Sep 2019 and is applying for ilr next year.

I don't earn anywhere near the proposed new requirement and never have. By the time the visa is due we'll have a 2 year old.

I'm so scared.

That's the point. They want to cut the numbers.

Coming into this late,  having just watched someone in the British govmt on TV explaining what they are proposing.... WTF?  You don't have enough doctors, nurses, carers and professionally trained people as it is, so you're going to dis-incentivize people who could do that work from coming to the UK by means of making it impossible for them to bring their family members.

Ok, yeah, that sounds like London calling....  Shot themselves in one foot with Brexit, going to get the other foot now.

There are times I am not sorry we left.  Most of the time yes, but sometimes....

Coming into this late,  having just watched someone in the British govmt on TV explaining what they are proposing.... WTF?  You don't have enough doctors, nurses, carers and professionally trained people as it is, so you're going to dis-incentivize people who could do that work from coming to the UK by means of making it impossible for them to bring their family members.
.
Ok, yeah, that sounds like London calling....  Shot themselves in one foot with Brexit, going to get the other foot now.

Doctors, nurses and others with skills, can still bring their families with them as they are on dependant visas. That hasn't changed.

In 2012, the average UK salary was about £26,000 and the income requirement was set at £18,600 (70% of the average salary).

In 2023 they want to increase the requirement to 110% of the average salary!

I admit I’m surprised they haven’t increased it before now, but I would expect it to go up to a figure maybe between £25,000 and £30,000… not almost £40,000!


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The £18,600 was based on the Welfare Benefit called Tax Credit,

Less than 18k earnings between them,  they could claim extra benefit money for their foreign spouse via the second adult element of Working Tax Credit.
1 child, less than 26k earnings between them for the welfare payment Tax Credit
2 children, less than 31k between them for Tax Credit
3 children
4 children
etc.

In 2010 they found that over 5 billion a year was being given in the new welfare payment Tax Credits to those who were not a British citizen when they appied for a NINo.
From 2011 they started to record who was not born a British Citizen but was now claiming welfare and what benefits they wanted.

They wanted to use the 26k to sponsor from 2012, but had to settle on £18,600.

I suggest everyone write to their MP to voice their opposition against this increase - that's what I'm doing. It's just cruel. 

I suggest everyone write to their MP to voice their opposition against this increase - that's what I'm doing. It's just cruel. 

I emailed my MP last night in a blind panic so may need to go about it in a more level way today!

Ok, yeah, that sounds like London calling....  Shot themselves in one foot with Brexit, going to get the other foot now.

It's the complete opposite of the EU's Free Movement, where the UK said over a decade ago that these and all their non-EEA citizen dependants were coming for what they can take: then hinted the UK would leave the EU if these could not be stopped.

Those using UK immigration rules can be refused entry, have to pay for their visas, pay the IHS to use the NHS and can only bring their spouse and children under age 18 as their dependants (although the visas with well known abuse are changing to stop them bringing their dependants). They also have to wait until they have settlement to be able to have Public Funds.

I emailed my MP this morning but I know it'll go no where. My MP has a horrible reputation around here for that sort of thing.