Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the effectiveness of the Minimum Income Requirement, as recommended by the Migration Advisory Committee in its annual report of 15 December 2020.

In February 2017 the Supreme Court upheld the lawfulness of the minimum income requirement, which prevents burdens on the taxpayer and promotes integration, ruling it strikes a fair balance between the interests of those wishing to sponsor a partner to settle in the UK and of the community in general. The Court found the minimum income requirement is not a breach of the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and is not discriminatory.

We continue to keep the family Immigration Rules under review, including taking into account recommendations made in the Migration Advisory Committee’s annual report of 15 December 2020, and will make adjustments should these prove necessary. However, our overall assessment is the Rules, including the minimum income requirement, are having the right impact and are helping to ensure public confidence in the immigration system by ensuring family migration is not based on access to the welfare system paid for by taxpayers.