Campaigners have welcomed a much-anticipated review into family visa requirements previously labelled a 'tax on love' by a Bristol MP.
The Home Office said it is considering recommendations which include lowering the minimum income required for a British citizen or settled resident to apply for a visa for their foreign spouse in the UK, currently set at £29,000.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has reviewed the impact of the current visa process on families, including on children's mental health and the right to family life.
Executive director of Reunite Families UK, Caroline Coombs, from Bristol, said "children are the biggest victims of these rules".
The minimum income requirement (MIR) has long been contested by couples who are unable to meet the threshold and, in some cases, are therefore forced to live apart.
First introduced in 2012, it increased from £18,600 to £29,000 in April 2024, as part of measures by the previous Conservative government to reduce immigration.
The Labour government commissioned an independent review of the policy, which has been carried out by the MAC, and was published on Tuesday.
The current threshold applies only to the British partner or settled resident and does not account for potential earnings from the foreign partner once in the UK – a rule the review is also calling on the Government to reconsider.
