AFF Foreign & Commonwealth Specialist, Katherine Houlston, discusses some recent positive changes to the immigration rules…
MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENT CHANGE
From 11 April 2024 the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) for members of the armed forces sponsoring non-UK partners and children has been a flat figure of £23,496. The MIR will no longer increase depending on the number of children being sponsored.
This is a significant change to the previous MIR, which had long prevented many non-UK soldiers with two or more children from bringing their families to the UK to join them.
A soldier will start earning £23,496 after 26 weeks’ service or on completion of Initial Trade Training, whichever is sooner. However, it is necessary to have earned that amount for at least six months as you’ll need to provide payslips and bank statements for the six months before the date of application.
The decision to align the MIR to the salary threshold of an army private on completion of training takes into account the unique role played by members of the armed forces, the nature of their service and the sacrifices made.
It also recognises the UK government’s moral obligations to service personnel and their families under the Armed Forces Covenant.
It’s worth noting that the MIR under Appendix Armed Forces is different to that under Appendix FM (the civilian route) which will increase to £38,700 by 2025.
For further detail about this new requirement and information about the transitional provisions for those who have already applied, see AFF: Home Office announcement on Minimum Income Requirement
OTHER POSITIVES
There are also other positive changes to the immigration rules for the armed forces.
Inclusion of a route for step-children – previous armed forces immigration rules had missed out a route for step-children of soldiers, meaning that these applications were often refused or were granted on a different route to their parent, leading to long delays and extra expense in trying to rectify the situation.
Having raised this issue for a number of years, we are very pleased to see step-children of soldiers provided for in the new rules.
Ability to count time on other routes towards the qualifying period for settlement – the old rules had prevented people who had been in the UK on the civilian family route (Appendix FM) or on work routes before switching to the armed forces rules, from counting that time towards the five years needed for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) application. You can now count time on those routes provided you have held a visa under Appendix HM Armed Forces for at least 12 months. (Student routes are not a route to settlement so they can’t be counted.)
Katie initially joined her British husband in the UK under civilian family rules, but he then enlisted two months later. In 2020 she switched to the armed forces rules but we explained that she would have to start the five years to settlement all over again as there was no ability at that point to combine the time spent on a different route.
Fortunately for her, the rule change means that she became eligible for ILR last year and can now apply as soon as she wishes.
Katie says: “I reached out to AFF for support navigating the confusing immigration system. I have received helpful, clear advice on moving to an armed forces spouse visa and now have a clear path to ILR. Thank you to the AFF team for your persistence!”
Change to the definition of an unmarried partner – the old rules had required that unmarried couples must have lived together for at least two years to meet the definition of a partner. The new definition of an unmarried partner is that they must meet the ‘durable relationship’ requirement. This does not require you to be living together as long as the relationship is ‘similar’ to a marriage or civil partnership and has been subsisting for more than two years. You can find a link to suggested supporting evidence on aff.org.uk/advice/foreign-commonwealth/visas/#visas-to-enter-uk.
Addition of GCSEs and A-levels to the list of accepted qualifications to meet the English language requirement – in a very welcome change the Home Office will now accept GCSE and A-level English language or literature passed at level 4 or above, as long as the exams were taken following education in a UK school which began while the child was under 18 (we are currently raising the question as to whether this will include MOD schools overseas).