The government has announced a set of new measures for non-European Economic Area (non-EEA) nationals applying under the family migration route for leave to enter or leave to remain in the UK.
The new rules will also define Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by stating a specific basis on which a person can enter or remain in the UK on the basis of their family or private life.
The changes are set to take place on 9th July 2012. The biggest changes include:
- introducing a new minimum income threshold of £18,600 for sponsoring the settlement in the UK of a spouse or partner, fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, of non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationality, with a higher threshold for any children also sponsored; £22,400 for one child and an additional £2,400 for each further child;
- extending the minimum probationary period for settlement for non-EEA spouses and partners from two years to five years, to test the genuineness of the relationship;
- abolishing immediate settlement for migrant spouses and partners where a couple have been living together overseas for at least four years;
- from October 2013, requiring all applicants for settlement to pass the Life in the UK Test and present an English language speaking and listening qualification at B1 level or above of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages unless they are exempt;
- allowing adult and elderly dependants to settle in the UK only where they can demonstrate that, as a result of age, illness or disability, they require a level of long-term personal care that can only be provided by a relative in the UK, and requiring them to apply from overseas rather than switch in the UK from another category, for example as a visitor;
- restricting family visit visa appeals, initially by narrowing the current definitions of family and sponsor for appeal purposes, and then, subject to the passage of the Crime and Courts Bill, which was published on 11 May 2012, removing the full right of appeal against refusal of a family visit visa;
Source: (UKBA Site)