The UK government may soon lower the amount of money British citizens, including British-Nigerians, must earn to bring their partners or children living abroad to join them in the UK on family visa.
This follows advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent group that reviews immigration rules in the UK, which includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Checks by Pan-Atlantic Kompass show that right now, people must earn at least £29,000 a year to sponsor a family visa. This rule started in April 2024 and was expected to rise again to £38,700. But the MAC says this is too high and unfair to many families. They suggest reducing it to between £23,000 and £28,000.
This is a positive development for immigrants of Nigerian origin who have long settled in the UK and become citizens. Their families in Africa and elsewhere would also welcome the news if the income threshold for family visas were reduced.
Professor Brian Bell, who heads the MAC, said, “Family visa and work visas have different purposes. Treating them the same causes real problems for families.”
The committee said the current rule has kept thousands of families apart and even harmed children’s mental health. According to reports, many British workers, especially those with children, don’t earn enough under the current rule.
Professor Helena Wray from the University of Exeter, who gave expert advice to the MAC, said the rule is “unfair and too high,” and that it causes “real distress to families who just want to live together.”
The government has promised to look at the advice before making any changes. A spokesperson for the Home Office, speaking for Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, said, “We are reviewing the committee’s advice and will respond soon.”
Estimates published by the UK Guardian had hinted that lowering the income rule for family visa could lead to about 5,000 to 8,000 more people moving to the UK each year. However, the MAC said this increase would be small and that keeping families together is more important.
Caroline Coombs, who helps run Reunite Families UK, said the government should act. “These are real people, not numbers. These are families who just want to live together,” she said.
The Labour government had already paused the planned increase earlier this year and asked the MAC to study the issue.
Ministers are expected to take decision on the income threshold for sponsoring UK family visa. If the rules change, they may come into effect in early 2026 as many families are waiting and hoping for a decision that allows them to live together again.
Recall that this digital magazine recently reported that over 500,000 Africans from Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe alone, moved to the UK on either work or study visas between 2021 and 2024, according to figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics, which were analyzed by Kompass Data.
