The UK is set to raise the minimum salary requirement for
obtaining a skilled worker visa. Currently set at £26,000, the new threshold
will be increased to £38,700.
Cleverly told parliament on Monday that the implementation
of the rules in the previous year could have resulted in a decrease of 300,000
migrants annually.
BBC reports that those coming on health and social care
visas will be exempt from the higher salary threshold.
But overseas care workers will no longer be allowed to bring
dependents—that is, their partners and children.
The implication is that if a UK person marries a non-UK
citizen, their new spouse will be unable to go to the UK to live with them
until they earn £38,700.
According to the BBC, in 2022, the net migration in the UK,
which represents the disparity between individuals immigrating to the country
and those emigrating, reached a total of 745,000.
“We will ensure people only bring dependents whom they can
support financially, by raising the minimum income for family visas to the same
threshold as the minimum salary threshold for Skilled Workers, £38,700,” he
said.