Financial requirements legal, says Supreme Court

By 22nd February 2017Immigration Rules

22 February 2017

In a disappointing, but unsurprising, determination published this morning the Supreme Court has held that the minimum income requirement to be able to sponsor a partner is legal.

The Supreme Court acknowledged that the requirement to have a minimum annual income of £18,600 before being able to sponsor a partner from overseas (which increases if there are non-British children involved) causes great hardship, particularly to women and ethnic minorities, but held that the government were none the less within their rights to impose this.

The Court did, however, take the view that the way in which the requirement is applied is unlawful, insofar as it fails to protect children who are affected by it, and also because it fails to take account of all the resources a person may have, but limits consideration of funds to the (rather arbitrary) ones set out in the Immigration Rules.

It remains to be seen what the Home Office response will be.