Families torn apart for not earning enough under 'unfair' visa rules: 'I can't take care of my husband'

When Ian Byford was diagnosed with throat cancer, his wife, Filea, a nurse from the Philippines, faced heartbreak because she was unable to join him in the UK. Forced to leave work while undergoing treatment, Ian could not meet the government’s financial threshold for a family visa.

People need to earn a minimum of £29,000 a year in order to bring their foreign partners to live in the UK, after the Conservative government raised the threshold by more than £10,000 last year. Nearly half of British workers earn less than this and would be unable to sponsor visas for foreign partners.

Ian and Filea got married in January 2024, having met on a dating site three years previously. Ian, a 56-year-old single dad, says he is “devastated” government visa rules are keeping them apart. He was told he had throat cancer in May and it then became seemingly impossible for Filea to be with him.

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Filea says she was refused a visiting visa because the Home Office did not believe she would return to the Philippines, and Ian was not earning enough for the family visa. So while Ian had 38 treatments of radiation and chemotherapy, Filea was unable to be by his side.

“It was sad for us. I take care of other people, my patients, but I can’t take care of my husband,” she says. Ian is now in recovery but he will not be able to work until July. For now, they remain in limbo.

Caroline Coombs, executive director and co-founder of Reunite Families UK, says: “When you marry the love of your life and plan your life together, which for many will include having children, you have no idea that in reality you have no actual rights over your own family life. 

“For over a decade, couples and families have been separated and suffered as a result of these policies, but never has the government stopped to even consider what these harsh rules were doing to couples and families. The ability of loving whoever we choose shouldn’t be dictated by how much we earn, or where we live in the country. Each and everyone of us deserve this right.”

The Conservatives had planned to raise the minimum earnings thresholds even further to £38,700 by early 2025. Labour has frozen it at £29,000 for now and commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to carry out a review of the financial requirements for family visas.

Reunite Families UK is urging the government to use the committee’s review to “introduce a fair and humane family migration policy, one that does not willingly make the lives of so many people – and children – in our country so miserable”.

The government does not comment on individual cases, but a Home Office spokesperson claimed “the minimum income requirement remains an important part of maintaining a controlled, managed and fair immigration system”.

“In cases where refusing a visa would cause unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant or their family, permission can still be granted based on exceptional circumstances,” they said.

Ministers have argued immigration is too high and that people should be able to prove they are self-sufficient before they bring a partner over to the UK. However, only the British citizen’s salary is taken into account, leaving families at risk of being separated despite being self-sufficient.

Sarah Douglas moved to Italy from Scotland in 2007 for a year to teach English and, within six weeks of arriving, met Matteo. They got married and had three children in Italy, but they would now like to return to the Scottish Borders to be closer to Sarah’s family. 

Brexit means Matteo now needs a visa to move to the UK – so they are subject to the earnings threshold. Sarah is a teacher and could, in theory, meet the salary requirements, but she is also a mum to three young children, one of whom is autistic, which makes it difficult to work full time. Matteo is a full-time software developer and the main earner in the family, but his salary is not considered.

“If we wanted to try and meet the income requirements, I would need to move back to Scotland alone, either leaving my kids behind in Italy, or moving with my kids alone, without my husband, and we would be separated for a minimum of six months before being able to apply for the visa. They look only at my income, not the overall financial picture of our family,” the 43-year-old mother says.

Sarah’s children are British citizens so would be able to come to the UK with her, without needing a family visa, but she would essentially have to be a single parent as well as work full-time for six months before she could sponsor her husband’s visa.

An alternative route for families is to have savings, but last year that threshold increased to £88,500, up from £62,500. Couples have to have held this in their accounts for at least six months.

“We were working towards meeting the requirements through the savings route before the government introduced the changes which really set us back. It means moving has become out of the question for now,” Sarah says. “My husband works really hard to support our family, and always has done. We’re a family that enjoys being together. We rely on each other for support.”

Couples also face challenges after securing a visa. Ben Raher and Rina Noviyanti met in Newcastle in 2018 and continued a long-distance relationship when Rina moved back to Indonesia. 

They married in February 2020, but were separated and faced delays because of the pandemic, until eventually Rina was awarded a family visa in 2022. She has lived in the UK since, and they have a two-year-old together. But the visa has to be renewed every two and a half years, at a cost of £3,845.50 including access to NHS care. 

“The biggest challenge we’re facing is the financial side. I’m earning enough to support us and to afford a property, but I’m not very wealthy,” 37-year-old Ben explains. “We’ve got food on the table. All our bills are paid, but we don’t have much left over.”

They hope that Rina will eventually be awarded British citizenship but she first needs indefinite leave to remain and to have lived in the UK for five years – and the application process is “complicated” and again comes at a cost (£2,885 for each person applying).

Ben is the sole earner and will be until their child is old enough to go to preschool, as they cannot afford childcare. Rina, 33, who speaks four different languages and has a postgraduate degree, points out that there is a gendered element to this which feels discriminatory.

“There are many stories that are a lot more sad than us. We got married right before Covid, which added to the challenge, but I think we are lucky because the British person is a man – my husband. Imagine if I was the British one, and I had to do the job and the child bearing and childcare, how would I meet that? It’s just so unfair. There are a lot of stories like that where families are separated.”

All three couples are calling for change in the visa rules so that families are not kept apart. 

Rina adds: “Why do you do this to people – your own people? If I was here on a skilled worker visa, it would be easier to bring my partner here. Why are you even harsher to British citizens? It’s so unfair. I would like it to change, especially to ensure that gender is taken into consideration.”

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