Sheffield charity worker gets 50,000 signatures to change new spousal visa rule

Daniel Neath and his fiancée Jenni

A charity worker's petition calling for changes to new spousal visa rules has gathered more than 50,000 signatures.

Daniel Neath started the campaign after the government said from March 2024 British citizens must earn at least £38,700 to bring in foreign relatives.

His fiancee Jenni is from Argentina so he is now rushing to get a visa sorted before the new law comes in.

The Home Office said the plan would help it "deliver the biggest ever reduction in net migration".

Previously, the threshold to sponsor a family member or partner to live in the UK was £18,600.

But the Home Office said that "net migration remains far too high" so the move will "slash migration levels and curb abuse of the immigration system".

Mr Neath, from Sheffield, argues that the new figure of £38,700 "penalises hard-working British people" and should be lowered to be more in line with the minimum wage.

He said that he realised it was necessary to show that a person is working in order to sponsor a spouse but that the government needed to find a figure that did not "discriminate".

Mr Neath added: "The move will impact the rights you have as a British citizen to marry whoever you choose.

"It impacts the rights and freedoms we have as the majority of British people would not be able to live here with a spouse from a different country."

He said that after some "sleepless nights" he was doing all he could to get his fiancee a visa before March but if he did not succeed they might have to get married in Argentina.

Mr Neath added that his petition showed the news had "impacted a lot of people" and he urged people to write to their MPs.

Under the rule change, the couple might not be able to live in the UK in the future

Frances Ledbury, an immigration solicitor from Truth Legal, said the government treated migrants like "commodities" it could "move around a chess board".

She said "forewarned is forearmed" and advised people to do their best to get a spousal visa application in before March.

Ms Ledbury also recommended seeking professional advice on how to maximise income and savings or how to best combine them.

"We're going to have to be creative with funds - as creative as rules let us," she said.

"The government need to start being truthful and honest about what do we need in terms of immigration and skillsets.

"It needs to take control of illegal migration, make faster decisions on asylum claims so we're not paying all that money for people to be accommodated and have a fair system for legal migration."