'Cruel' family visa rules to face court challenge

Multinational families threatened with division or exile by tough income thresholds for living together in the UK are planning legal action to overturn the “cruel and inhumane” policy.

- Robert Booth & Michael Goodier

 

Thousands of families with one British partner and one born abroad will be hit by the government’s announcement that from next spring only people earning £38,700 will be allowed to bring family members to join them – up from £18,600. Many may be forced to live separately or leave Britain . 

 Reunite Families, an organisation for people affected by immigration rules has instructed the law firm Leigh Day to explore legal avenues to challenge the changes announced on 4 December by the home secretary, James Cleverly, that amount to being “ punished for falling in love ”, according to one family affected.

Hundreds of people whose lives could be turned upside down by the new rules have contacted the Guardian, warning that they will have to leave the UK if they want to stay with their foreign partners. Many work in sectors with severe labour shortages, such as care and social work.

One care worker, 50, said the rule was “ruining our plans for a happy future”. An academic, 35, said: “These new rules terrify me. ” A marketing manager said: “Separating families is an atrocity,” and a music teacher, 35, facing a move to Kazakhstan, said they felt the comfort they had worked for “slipping away”.