It’s Not Right but (now) It’s Okay? Registration under special circumstances: a potential route to British citizenship
Bukunmi Osuntoki
On 14 March 2024, the UK government released a statement of changes in the Immigration Rules as part of the Prime Minister and Home Secretary’s plan to slash migration levels. The Home Office expects that at least 300,000 people who came to the UK last year would now not be able to enter under these changes.
We have set out below a quick summary of the newly published Appendix FM (Family Member) visa rules. These are the rules for family visa applications.
Who will be affected by the new rules?
For family members of British citizens and those settled in the UK (with indefinite leave to remain or status under the EU Settlement Scheme), the key date to be aware of is 11 April 2024. This is when the new rules for Appendix FM applicants, i.e. spouses, fiancées, unmarried partners, and children, will come into force.
If you are planning to enter the UK under Appendix FM, or if you are in the UK on a different visa and want to switch to this route, as long as you submit your first application pursuant to Appendix FM before 11 April 2024, you will not be affected by these rule changes.
If you are already in the UK on the Appendix FM route, and your first application under Appendix FM was submitted before 11 April 2024, all subsequent applications to extend your stay in the UK can be submitted under the current rules as long as you apply on the basis of a genuine and subsisting relationship with the same partner in your previous application(s).
If you are in the UK and apply under this route on or after 11 April 2024 on the basis of a new relationship, you will have to meet the new financial requirements set out below.
Changes to the financial requirement
This statement of changes has confirmed an increase in the financial requirement for Appendix FM applications. If you will satisfy these requirements by way of annual income, the minimum gross annual salary that British/settled sponsors will need to show has increased from £18,600 to £29,000.
Alternatively, the Home Office will also continue to allow applicants to rely on savings to satisfy the financial requirement, and has kept the formula for calculating the savings required the same. Therefore, if you are relying solely on savings to meet the financial requirement, the minimum savings you need from 11 April 2024 will increase from £62,500 to £88,500 for entry and extension applications, and from £34,600 to £45,000 for settlement applications.
The Home Office has also announced the removal of a separate child element to the Minimal Income Requirement. At present applicants must meet a higher minimum financial requirement if they have additional children applying for a visa alongside their partner. In the one positive change to the rules, this has been removed for those applying from 11 April 2024. Additionally, for those who applied under Appendix FM prior to the 11 April 2024 changes, where the financial requirement would exceed £29,000 due to the number of children in the family, the maximum limit of the financial requirement has now been capped at £29,000.
The Home Office plans to eventually increase the financial requirement to a minimum gross annual salary of £38,700 by early 2025. The changes outlined above are part of the transitional staggered changes leading up to this. They have announced that the financial requirement will increase again this year to a minimum gross annual salary of £34,500, and whilst it has not been confirmed we would expect to see this change in around September or October 2024. Corresponding increases will also occur for the level of savings required to satisfy the financial requirement.
We anticipate that there will be further transitional arrangements to allow those who apply under the £29,000 route to continue their journey in the UK on this route when the new levels of financial requirements are enforced, similar to the arrangements made for the current £18,600 level although this is not yet confirmed.
We recognise that there are many immigration changes going on at the moment, with a reduction to migration being cited as the UK government’s main aim at this time. Our 2024 immigration changes timeline should assist you in keeping track of the changes. There are also some links to further content that should help you to understand what is happening and when.
further information
If you have any queries in relation to the above immigration issues, please contact a member of our immigration team.
about the authors
Katie is a Partner in the immigration team and has over 10 years' experience across a wide spectrum of UK immigration matters, with particular expertise in applications made under Tier 1 of the Points Based System and complex personal immigration matters.
Ellis joined Kingsley Napley in July 2022 as a paralegal in the Private Immigration team. He assists on a wide range of personal UK immigration matters including Global Talent, Skilled Worker, Family, Indefinite Leave to Remain, Citizenship, and Asylum and International Protection applications.
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We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
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