Britain's top court backs government on
immigration income test
Send a link to a friend
[February 22, 2017]
By Alistair Smout
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top court
backed a government attempt to limit immigration by ruling on Wednesday
that an income test for those who want to bring their non-European
spouses to the UK is acceptable and does not infringe human rights.
Prime Minister Theresa May introduced a rule in 2012 when she was
interior minister that Britons who wanted to bring spouses from outside
the European Economic Area to the UK had to be earning at least 18,600
pounds ($23,170) a year.
The Supreme Court said the minimum income requirement had caused
significant hardship to many, but ruled that in principle it was not
inconsistent with the European Convention on Human Rights.
"The fact that a rule causes hardship to many, including some who are in
no way to blame for the situation in which they now find themselves,
does not mean that it is incompatible with the Convention rights or
otherwise unlawful at common law," the court said.
The income threshold, it added, was "part of an overall strategy aimed
at reducing net migration," with aims that were "no doubt entirely
legitimate."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Feb/22/images/ads/current/pestcontrol_bch_termites.png)
However, campaigners who had claimed the income bar was a breach of
human rights to a family life celebrated caveats to the ruling.
The court said the current rules did not adequately account for the
protection of children or the possibility that alternative sources of
funding be allowed other than the income of the Briton. Currently, the
income of the non-European spouse does not count towards the income
requirement.
"These are significant victories for families up and down the country,"
said Saira Grant, Chief Executive at the Joint Council for the Welfare
of Immigrants.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/022217pics/news_r39.jpg)
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a high-level
meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants at
the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York, U.S.,
September 19, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_090916.png)
"This judgment confirms that the government's position is now
untenable and they must now take immediate steps to protect the
welfare of children in accordance with their legal duty."
The interior ministry said the court had endorsed its approach in
setting an income threshold for family migration that prevents
burdens on the taxpayer.
"This is central to building an immigration system that works in the
national interest," it said in a statement.
It added however: "We are carefully considering what the court has
said in relation to exceptional cases where the income threshold has
not been met, particularly where the case involves a child."
(Editing by Stephen Addison)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Feb/22/images/ads/current/napa_bch1-3108.png) |