Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the evidential basis for her Department’s claim that the minimum income requirement encourages integration.

The purpose of the minimum income requirement, implemented in July 2012 along with other reforms of the family Immigration Rules, is to ensure family migrants are supported at a reasonable level so they do not become a burden on the taxpayer. The Government is committed to promoting social cohesion, good relations and a sense of belonging for all members of society. The ability to participate in activities and organisations outside the home plays a part in this. The minimum income requirement is not the only factor that promotes the ability to participate but the level at which it is set can mean that one particular barrier is reduced.

The Supreme Court has endorsed our approach in setting an income requirement for family migration which prevents burdens on the taxpayer and promotes integration into our communities. In particular that it strikes a balance between the interests of those wishing to sponsor a partner form overseas and the community in general.