(News of the South)-The UK Supreme Court has upheld the Minimum Income Requirement that dictates that a partner has to earn at least $23 000 before his or her foreign partner can be allowed into the country.
The stipulation was recently challenged by four families who said the law did not pay heed to their human rights and should be repealed.
However the UK Supreme has come out with a judgement that the legal stipulation is within the confines of humane boundaries though it should be amended in relation to paying attention to the best interests of any children involved, or alternative sources of income.
This has raised the hopes of some nationals with foreign partners who felt that the income threshold was set too high and the law overrode some basic human issues.
The new rules concerning a MIR were introduced in 2012 and require that a UK partner — a British citizen or recognized refugee — must have a minimum annual income of at least £18,600 (around $23,000) for their spouse to live with them, if the spouse comes from outside the European Economic Area.
Previously the law had simply required proof that the couple could support themselves without need for state assistance such as welfare payments.
Groups advocating for the families involved have hailed the ruling due to the qualifications in the ruling which have given hope to families divided by the current rules.
Saira Grant, chief executive at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, was quoted in the media describing the judgment as a “real victory for families especially those with children.”
“The court had backed the advocacy group’s position of the past five years that the best interests of children were not being protected and that other sources of income should be considered”, she said.
“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,” she said.
According to the JCWI statement, an estimated 15,000 children, most of them British citizens, are separated from one parent as a result of the minimum income requirement.
The Migrants’ Rights Network, a UK charity supporting migrants’ rights, said in a statement that the ruling “could give limited hope to some of the separate families with children but the four families who brought the appeal will not find out whether they can live together in Britain until their cases are reconsidered.”
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