Partners

Partners

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENTS: On 4 December 2023, the previous Conservative Home Secretary, James Cleverly MP, announced a series of measures with the intention of reducing legal migration to the UK. The measures included, in relation to 'five-year route' Appendix FM applications, the increase of the standard required minimum income threshold from £18,600 to £29,000 for initial applications in Spring 2024. This rise was introduced via changes to the Immigration Rules, from 11 April 2024. There were then to be two additional rises in due course, but the new Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP announced on 30 July 2024 that the Migration Advisory Committee was to be commissioned to review these financial requirements, and any further rises would not proceed until then. For further information, see Practice Note: Immigration calendar.

Under the Immigration Rules, the partner of a person in the following categories may apply to join or remain with them in the UK:

•
British citizen
•
settled person
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person with refugee leave or under the humanitarian protection provisions in the Immigration Rules where the applicant was not part of the sponsoring partner’s family unit prior

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Latest Immigration News

Immigration weekly highlights—21 November 2024

Welcome to the 21 November 2024 highlights from the Immigration team, which provides links to key news stories from the last week, as well as a round-up of new and updated content in Immigration.

Visa application locations changing from 14 January 2025

The Home Office has updated its guidance on changes to its commercial partner for overseas visa application services. From 14 January 2025, visa application centres outside of the UK will change from TLS contact to VFS Global in some more locations. VFS Global will now operate visa application centres in these locations: Armenia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden. Additionally, the Home Office provided location updates effective from 4 December 2024 to now include Germany and Ireland. The guidance and the Find a visa application centre tool have also been updated for countries that have already moved across from TLS Contact to VFS.

Trust for London reveals impact of no recourse to public funds policy on migrants and local authorities

A report funded by Trust for London and conducted by the Centre for Social Policy Studies has highlighted significant issues with the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) policy. The study reveals that NRPF is driving migrants into poverty, with an estimated 208,000 households at risk of destitution nationwide. In London alone, 120,000 households with NRPF are at risk, whilst 36,900 are already in poverty. The policy disproportionately affects women and children, including British citizens, and cost London boroughs nearly £50 million in 2022/23 (in providing support further to their statutory duties to support people in need). The report argues that NFPF is not meeting its policy objectives, and makes a number of recommendations.

Recommendations made for UK immigration detention policy

The organisations Detention Action, Bail for Immigration Detainees, Medical Justice and the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association have produced a series of briefings on the law, policy and practice of immigration detention, together with some recommendations to the government on changes they would like to see made.