Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the 2019-20 financial year can be used instead of the 2020-21 financial year to assess the £18,600 income threshold with regard to self-employed British citizens applying for a spouse visa who have experienced financial disruption due to the covid-19 outbreak.
We have made several relevant adjustments to the Minimum Income Requirement to support those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including self-employed British citizens who are sponsoring their spouse or partner under the family Immigration Rules.
A temporary loss of annual income due to COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2021 will generally be disregarded when assessing self-employment income, along with the impact on income from the same period for any future applications. Income received via the Coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will also be taken into account.
These adjustments are among a range of measures put in place by the Home Office to support those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. These are set out for customers on GOV.UK and are available here: