Significant Changes to Family Visas Proposed via New Government Plans

Labour Set Out Significant Immigration Changes in New Plans

Keir Starmer has outlined significant overhauls to the UK immigration system under new plans, including some suggested amendments to the UK Family immigration system.

The new changes were released in a government white paper earlier this week, titled “Restoring Control over the Immigration System”, alongside comments cementing the party’s commitment to reducing overall migration numbers.

Starmer has stated concerns that the UK may risk becoming an “island of strangers” if tougher immigration policies are not introduced, reinforcing his desire to “take back our borders” and clamp down on the rising numbers of migrants who have come to the UK in recent years.

The white paper outlines several proposals, policy changes and reforms to the current immigration system, generally designed to further restrict and limit the scope in which individuals can immigrate to the UK.

Among these is the proposed removal of the ability for foreign care workers to come and work in the UK, as well as longer and more restrictive controls on who can become a UK citizen or permanent resident.

What Are the Proposed Changes to Family Immigration?

The governmental white paper states the following proposed changes to family reform. The paper states that “by the end of this year”, a new family policy will be introduced that will:

• Cover all UK residents including those who are British, settled, on work routes or refugees seeking to bring family members to the UK
• Have clear relationship requirements, designed to ensure only those in genuine, subsisting relationships qualify, reduce forced marriage and include protections for victims of domestic abuse
• Ensure those coming to the UK have an appropriate level of English language skills, to be able to effectively integrate into local communities
• Ensure the family unit has sufficient money financially to support any migrants without relying on the taxpayer through reviewing and extending the financial requirements to other dependant routes, and
• Ensure that those who serve or have served as members of HM Armed Forces, bravely protecting our country, and their dependants, have their rights to reside in the UK and become British citizens protected in line with this Government’s commitment to them, in the Armed Forces Covenant.

The paper also goes on to state that: “We will also explore tightening our Suitability Rules on the family routes to ensure people are of the good character we expect. We will introduce changes to English language requirements for adult family dependants, to align with the broad approach set out at Chapter 6.”

What Do the Proposed Changes Mean?

Many of the proposed changes aim to reduce the numbers of migrants coming to the UK through legal routes.

These include potential crackdowns on false, abusive or exploitative relationships being brought to the UK on Family visas, higher and more stringent English language requirements for main applicants and their dependents, and controls on who can come to the UK based on new, stricter “good character” requirements.

In regards to the new “good character” requirements, this may involve widening the scope of visa refusals based on an applicant’s previous criminal history. This change has already been put into place recently, with the announcement that refugees may be refused asylum in the UK if they have a criminal history of sexual offences.

All of these proposed changes may affect future applicants and their family members applying for Spouse, Partner, Child, Parent visas.

The white paper provided some additional context to help understand the proposed changes to Family immigration.

The main motivating factor behind the changes, according to the paper, is to prevent misuse of the current system and to ensure that immigration is “managed and controlled to ensure that there are clear rules on who people can bring into the country, on what terms, and also on whether people can stay.”

The paper also expresses concerns over “overly complex” cases of circumstances that are deemed exceptional to the normal immigration rules, particularly those that invoke Article 8 of the Human Rights Act (derived from Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)).

Subsequently, the proposed changes claim to try and close these gaps where potential abuses of the system may occur, while also addressing concerns that the current system is “operationally costly [and] inefficient.” Reforms for family immigration will also aim to reduce the number of “exceptional” cases seen in the UK in favour of a “clear framework” to process cases instead.

What Does This Mean for Me?

If you or your family members are already in the UK on a Family visa and do not plan to apply for any new visas in the future, it is unlikely that these new proposed changes will affect you.

This is because changes to the UK immigration rules typically only apply to new applicants applying after new rules have come into effect, and do not usually retroactively affect previous applicants or current visa holders.

However, individuals who are planning to apply for a UK visa in the future may wish to consider applying for a visa relatively soon if there is concern that the new proposed rules may negatively affect your chances of being approved for a Family visa.

It is important to note that we have not received confirmation of the exact changes that will be made to Family visas, nor do we know exactly when the changes will be brought into effect this year.

Despite this, it may be advisable to consider speaking to an immigration adviser about your options if you are uncertain about your options or worried about the direction that UK Family immigration may take in the future.

How Can IAS Help?

If you’re looking to come to the UK on a Family visa and are unsure of how best to navigate future changes, IAS can help.

We are a team of expert and compassionate immigration lawyers who can work with you to explore all of your options to enable you to reunite with your partner in the UK. We can help advise and assist you to navigate the UK immigration rules to help reunite you and your partner in the UK, or help with any other immigration issue you may have.

We can also provide expert advice if you or your partner are concerned that you will not meet future changes to the requirements, providing a complete assessment of your situation and offering tailored advice to help your case.

To arrange an advice session with one of our advisers, reach out to us on +44 (0)333 414 9244 or contact us via our online form.