If you were planning to visit the UK on a Family visa, your plans are going to be affected largely by this new policy change by the British government. A family visa is given to partners or spouses of citizens and permanent residents of the United Kingdom. There are certain criterias that the UK residents need to fulfill in order to qualify for the family visa.
The government has proposed a change in one of the major criterias for the visa and it is going to impact a large number of people. The minimum yearly income necessary to avail this visa has been increased from £18,600 to £38,700. This is a huge increase and is likely to set back plans for many skilled workers.
The last time this income requirement was changed was in 2012. The government says that the idea behind this increase is to make sure that people bring only those whom they can financially support.
The Indian community is going to be highly affected by this move. They constitute the second largest community to use the family visa after the Pakistanis. It is speculated that this can result in many skilled workers looking for other markets.
