Family Visas: Income Requirement

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered e-petition 652602 relating to the income requirement for family visas.

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Pritchard, on my first opportunity to present a debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee. I thank Shannon Korkmaz for launching this petition and starting a very important conversation that has allowed those affected to have their voices heard today. It is a great achievement that the petition gathered more than 100,000 signatures. It reads:

“We believe it’s inhumane for the Government to do this to British citizens and others entitled to family visas, and that this policy is punishing people for failing in love with someone who has a different nationality.”

The minimum income requirement for family visas was introduced in 2012, and at that time it was set at an annual income of £18,600. The coalition Government stated that the purpose of the policy was to ensure that family migrants are fully supported when integrating into the UK, while not being a burden on the taxpayer and public services. The figure of £18,600 in 2012 equated to £26,250 in December 2024, based on the Bank of England’s inflation calculator.

An individual needs a family visa to live with a family member in the UK for more than six months. The income threshold remained at £18,600 from 2012 until April 2024, when it was increased to £29,000. A person can apply for a family visa to live with a spouse, fiancé, child, parent or relative who will provide them with long-term care. Spouses on the family visa can stay in the UK for two years and nine months, while a fiancé can stay for six months. Income can be from employment or self-employment, cash savings above £16,000, money from a pension, or non-work income such as property rentals or dividends.

In April 2024, alongside a collection of other policies aimed at lowering net migration, the then Government raised the income threshold to £29,000. Their intention was to incrementally raise it to £34,500 and finally to £38,700 by early 2025, as highlighted in the petition. In response, the petitioners stated:

“Most people in the UK don’t make £38,700 per year and now may face the choice of a lifetime without their partner or leaving their own country because they fell in love and can’t meet the financial requirement for the family visa.

We believe it’s inhumane for the Government to do this to British citizens and others entitled to family visas”.

I will say more about that later.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

Many of my constituents have signed the petition, and they say that they struggle to have a family life in the UK due to the previous Government’s 55% increase in the income requirement for family visas. That includes many individuals who work in charities or in public services and are giving back to our communities. Does my hon. Friend agree that those unattainable requirements make it disproportionately difficult for some families to be together?

[Irene Campbell]

I agree, and I will say a bit more about that later.

Government and Democracy Education

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered government and democracy education in schools.

It is appropriate that I have secured this debate during Parliament Week. I want to put on record my praise for the education and engagement team for their brilliant work. Unsurprisingly, I am going to argue that there should be more education about government and democracy in our schools. I am not the first to make that case and I will not be the last, but of course it would be great if I were.

Making this case fits into the category of not needing to be a rocket scientist—namely, it is obvious that for a democracy to function well its citizens must understand how their government and democratic system works. As with many things, though, just being obvious is not enough to ensure that it happens.

Why is this important? The House of Lords Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement put it well in a report in 2018:

“By underpinning democratic engagement and reinforcing the effective working of civil society, active citizenship contributes to a healthy and functioning society.”

In my view, we should teach about government and democracy for the same reason that we teach other subjects: to equip our young people with the skills, knowledge and attributes that will enable them to be the architects of their future, and not merely inhabitants of a future designed by others.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for holding this important debate on a subject that I agree with wholeheartedly. Ahead of COP29, I held a student conference of the parties with three high schools in my constituency, where the students passionately debated climate issues. Does my hon. Friend agree that initiatives like that underscore how integrating government and democracy education into the school curriculum can empower young people to become informed, active citizens who are engaged with the challenges we are facing?

[John Slinger]

I agree. I will come to that when I complete my remarks. We are talking about empowering our young people to set the agenda in their schools and, we hope, in their lives.

Learning standard subjects, such as history and science, enables young people to develop core skills, imbibe relevant knowledge and hone the powers of critical analysis that will empower them to thrive in future, whether in study or work.

Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree that it is important we get the balance right. That is why the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade are looking carefully, as part of our wider reforms to employment support and employment law, at what more we need to do around parental leave entitlements. I share the hon. Member’s concern about the comments we have heard from the now leader of the Conservative party, the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch), about maternity pay. I want to make sure that parents have choices about what works for them, what is best for them and what best supports their children’s development in those crucial early years.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

2. What steps she is taking to provide preventive education for schoolchildren about knife crime.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

What schools teach can play an important part, alongside wider activity, in the Government’s safer streets mission and tackling knife crime. Relationships, sex and health education includes content on situations that lead to young people carrying knives, including criminal exploitation, county lines operations and grooming relationships. We are reviewing the content to ensure that it remains relevant and protects children’s wellbeing.

[Afzal Khan]

Greater Manchester continues to experience some of the highest rates of knife violence in the country, with more than 10,000 recorded incidents since 2020. Organisations such as the Greater Manchester violence reduction unit have been doing excellent work in early prevention by engaging children and young people through community-led projects, including theatre productions. Given the importance of early community-based intervention, does the Minister agree that providing support for such initiatives is important in tackling knife violence?

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important topic and highlighting the good work of the Greater Manchester violence reduction unit. As well as the work on the RSHE curriculum, the Government will create a new young futures programme, intervening early to stop young people being drawn into crime through preventive action and learning from best practice across the country. It is vital that we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most, be they victims or potential perpetrators.