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UK Visas
The UK's proposed hike in the minimum annual salary threshold for British citizens and permanent residents to be eligible to sponsor a spouse or partner on a Family Visa will take place in incremental stages, the government has told Parliament. The update came on Thursday in reply to a written parliamentary question in the House of Lords, stating that the threshold will initially rise to GBP 29,000 in early 2024 from the current level of GBP 18,600 and then be followed by two further increases. The move has been branded a rowing back by the Opposition after Home Secretary James Cleverly had told the Commons earlier this month that the threshold will jump to GBP 38,700, in line with the minimum salary requirement for the Skilled Worker visa route. Latest Home Office documents now say that while the intention remains to align both thresholds, it will be done in stages over time. The MIR (Minimum Income Requirement) will be increased in incremental stages to give predictability, said .
Dubious agents are operating an illicit visa appointments trade in South Asia, charging unsuspecting students and workers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal exorbitant rates for a service that should be free, a UK media investigation has found. According to The Observer' newspaper on Sunday, brokers in some parts of South Asia are charging up to GBP 800 for biometric appointments being advertised on social media messaging services in these countries. The problem is believed to be the worst in Pakistan where the investigation found that the abuse of the visa appointment system by agents is feared to have increased significantly over the last year. "It is a massive issue. It all adds to the debt people pay to come to the UK," Rakesh Ranjan, South Asia coordinator for the migrant workers' programme at the UK-based Institute for Human Rights and Business, told the newspaper. When applying for a visa from New Delhi recently, Ranjan was quoted the equivalent of GBP 500 by an agent
The UK is now providing visit visas to travellers from India within 15 days of receiving applications, British High Commissioner Alex Ellis said on Friday. At the same time, he said a small number of trickier cases take longer time. "Two months ago, I said that our aim was by the end of the year to be turning around visit visas from India to the UK within our standard time of 15 working days. The great news is that the team has now achieved it through fantastic work here in Delhi and across the whole visa network," Ellis said in a short video clip that he posted on Twitter. "There are still a few cases which take longer, the very complex ones and that's right that they do," he added. The high commissioner described quicker visa processing as "good news". "You can of course use the priority visa channel if you still want. We are turning that around within five days. And finally we have a big intake of student visas for the student session starting in January of next year," he said.