The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has today published its long-awaited review of the financial requirement for UK family visas.
Commissioned in response to widespread criticism of the Conservative government’s decision to raise the threshold from £18,600 to £29,000, and with a proposed increase to £38,700 still under consideration, the MAC was asked by the Labour government to assess whether the current approach was fair and effective.
The MAC has now released its 96-page report, entitled Family Route: Financial Requirements Review, which effectively calls for a reset of the existing rules.
Rather than linking the requirement to the Skilled Worker route, the MAC recommends a lower, evidence-based threshold in the region of £23,000 to £25,000, alongside a series of practical reforms to improve fairness and reduce unnecessary separation for families.
UK Family Visa Recommendations
Following its review of the family visa route, the MAC has put forward recommendations to the government for a more proportionate financial threshold, based on full-time earnings at the national living wage, and outlining a package of reforms aimed at improving transparency, reducing administrative delays and supporting family unity.
The key recommendations include:
Minimum income requirement reset
The MAC proposes replacing the £29,000 floor with a range between £21,000 and £28,000, likely settling around £23-25,000. Its rationale is that aligning the threshold with full-time living-wage earnings would reduce the number of couples blocked from reuniting, while only modestly increasing projected fiscal costs.
The report also raised human rights concerns, saying: “We do not recommend the [family visa minimum income] approach based on the skilled worker salary threshold as it is unrelated to the family route and is the most likely to conflict with international law and obligations (e.g. Article 8).”
However, the Committee stresses that the MIR level is ultimately a political and ethical judgement: lower bands favour family unity but come with a higher (though modest) fiscal cost; higher bands do the reverse. The MAC has put forward a calibrated set of thresholds and practical fixes to allow ministers to make that trade-off transparently.
Single national rate
A uniform figure would apply across the United Kingdom, with no separate bands for London or the devolved nations. Simplicity at the point of application outweighs the small theoretical gains from regional tailoring, and a “UK-excluding-London” dataset is suggested for future uprating so that inner-London salaries are not allowed to drag the bar higher.
No child surcharges
Extra income top-ups for dependent children are ruled out. Instead, the Committee urges reform of the separate Parent route so that mothers or fathers outside the United Kingdom can qualify more readily and avoid prolonged separation from their children.
Modern definition of “income”
An applicant’s confirmed UK job offer or secure remote-work salary would count toward the threshold. Cash savings could be blended with self-employment earnings, and households that rely on a single earner would be assessed on that income alone, removing the hidden penalty on freelancers and contractors.
Evidence window streamlined
Six months of payslips would be totalled and doubled to produce an annual figure, replacing the rigid April-to-April tax-year approach. A joint application route is recommended so that families are no longer forced to split while the sponsor builds up fresh UK payslips.
Predictable uprating
The MIR would rise every year under a published formula, announced 12 months in advance. Families and advisers would therefore be able to plan around regular, modest adjustments instead of facing sporadic step-changes.
Adequate maintenance overhaul
The current maintenance formula is tied to defunct Income Support rates and no longer tracks real-world Universal Credit entitlements. The preferred solution is to drop the financial element altogether while retaining the accommodation check; until that happens, sponsors eligible for Adequate Maintenance could opt into the MIR instead.
Data capture and evaluation
Structured recording of which test was met, whose income counted, refusal grounds, fee-waiver use and subsequent HMRC earnings would be built into case-work systems. Robust data would allow the Home Office to model fiscal impact and family outcomes before making future policy shifts.
Table: Summary of MAC UK Family Visa Review June 2025
| Theme | What the MAC proposes | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Re-set the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) | Replace the current £29k MIR and avoid adopting the £38.7k Skilled-Worker rate. Opt for a level between £21k and £28k, with evidence clustering around £23-25k. | Aligns the test with full-time Living Wage earnings and prevents ordinary workers from being priced out. |
| 2. Keep one national rate | No regional bands; at most, peg the figure to a “UK-excluding-London” benchmark so it is easier to meet inside London, not harder elsewhere. | Avoids administrative complexity and prevents gaming the system. |
| 3. Abolish child top-ups | Do not add extra income for each child. Instead, widen eligibility for the Parent route to reduce child-parent separation. | Surcharges would entrench harm to children already most affected by separation. |
| 4. Modernise what counts as “income” | • Count the applicant’s UK job offer or remote-work salary. • Allow cash savings to combine with self-employment earnings. • If only one income is used, test at the individual level; if two, at household level. |
Reflects post-pandemic labour patterns and removes unique penalties on the self-employed. |
| 5. Shorter, simpler evidence window | Total the last six months’ pay and multiply by two to annualise; create a pathway allowing families to apply together instead of forcing sponsor-only moves. | Cuts the typical six-month family separation currently baked into the process. |
| 6. Predictable uprating | Introduce annual, formula-based uprating announced one year in advance. | Removes policy “shocks” and lets families plan. |
| 7. Overhaul—or scrap—the Adequate Maintenance (AM) test | Preferred option: drop the financial element but keep the accommodation check. Until then, allow AM-eligible sponsors to use MIR instead. | AM is tied to obsolete benefit formulas and can inadvertently penalise carers. |
| 8. Data, data, data | Capture structured data on whether MIR or AM was used, whose income counted, refusal grounds, location, fee waivers, and link Home Office records to HMRC earnings. | Enables evidence-based modelling of fiscal and human impacts for future rule changes. |
Impact on Family Visa Applicants
Potential family visa applicants should prepare for a minimum income requirement expected to land in the £23,000–£25,000 range, noticeably lower than the £29,000 figure set in 2024 yet still high enough to warrant careful budgeting.
A confirmed job offer in the United Kingdom or verifiable remote-work salary can now count toward that threshold, removing the need for sponsors to spend months apart from their families while they generate fresh payslips inside the country. Cash savings continue to act as a safety valve: every £2.50 saved offsets roughly £1 of annual earnings, so a reserve of £25,000 could bridge a £10,000 shortfall. Self-employment profits may be combined with those savings or with salaried income, giving contractors and freelancers the same footing as traditional employees.
Additional income will no longer be demanded for dependent children, and forthcoming reforms to the Parent route are expected to make reunification easier when one parent is outside the United Kingdom.
Evidence for all income routes will be drawn from the most recent six-month period and annualised by doubling the total, so applicants should gather clear payslips, bank statements and tax records covering that window.
The Home Office plans to uprate the threshold every year under a published formula announced twelve months in advance, allowing families to time their applications with greater certainty.
Sponsors who previously relied on the Adequate Maintenance calculation can opt into the streamlined income test instead, avoiding outdated benefit-linked formulas.
Financial details declared in the application will feed directly into HMRC systems, meaning any discrepancy could jeopardise future extensions or raise compliance flags.
Key Considerations for Employers
In light of the recommendations, employers could anticipate greater mobility for sponsored and unsponsored staff once the family-route income threshold drops to a level closer to full-time living-wage earnings, likely around £23,000–£25,000. A lower bar means candidates who were previously blocked from reuniting with partners are more willing to relocate, boosting acceptance rates for overseas job offers and reducing last-minute withdrawals that disrupt workforce plans.
The fact that an applicant’s confirmed UK salary, or securely documented remote-work earnings, can count toward the requirement removes the six-month pause that often forced sponsors to travel alone, shortening onboarding timelines and lessening pastoral support costs. Self-employment income and cash savings can now be combined more flexibly, so contractors hired on freelance or project-based arrangements face fewer hurdles when moving with their families.
No additional income surcharge for children eliminates a hidden cost that previously pushed some skilled workers to seek alternative destinations, improving the United Kingdom’s competitiveness in the talent market.
Annual uprating of the threshold on a published formula, announced a year in advance, will allow HR teams to forecast salary budgeting and mobility allowances with greater accuracy instead of rushing to meet sudden jumps.
Where employees relied on the legacy Adequate Maintenance route because of caring responsibilities or certain state benefits, the option to meet a single income test streamlines support from in-house mobility teams and reduces legal-advice spend.
Home Office systems will link declared earnings directly to HMRC data, so any salary guarantees or allowances provided by the employer must align exactly with payroll and tax reporting to avoid jeopardising future extensions or sponsor compliance ratings.
Recruitment briefs should therefore include guidance on acceptable evidence periods: the Home Office will assess the most recent six months of income and double it to annualise, making late-period pay rises or bonuses especially valuable for staff close to the threshold.
Finally, clearer parent-route eligibility is expected to cut the risk that one partner remains overseas, reducing safeguarding and wellbeing concerns that can affect productivity and retention.
Overall, the proposed reforms offer employers a steadier framework for workforce planning, provided salary packages, documentation processes and payroll data remain tightly aligned with the new rules.
Next Steps?
The review is advisory, not binding. As such, ministers are not obliged to accept its findings, but are under growing pressure to respond. However, the report was commissioned by the Home Secretary under the current Labour government, which has already criticised the Conservative-era increase to £29,000 and signalled discomfort with plans to raise the figure to £38,700.
The ball is therefore now firmly in the government’s court.
In the short term, the government is expected to open a public consultation or issue a formal response to the MAC’s recommendations. Key departments, including the Home Office, Treasury, and Number 10, would be expected to weigh the fiscal modelling, legal risks and overall political optics before landing on any revised threshold. Although the MAC suggests a range of £21,000 to £28,000, it will ultimately be a political judgement where the figure lands within that band.
Any policy change would likely come into force via amendments to the Immigration Rules, following formal parliamentary procedure. If accepted, the new income threshold and associated changes (such as counting job offers and scrapping child surcharges) could realistically take effect in late 2025 or early 2026, depending on how quickly the Home Office moves.
In the meantime, the existing £29,000 threshold remains in place for new family visa applications. Applicants should watch closely for announcements in the coming months, as transitional rules or grace periods may apply once the government confirms its next steps.
Need Assistance?
For advice on any aspect of UK family visa routes, from the impact on any changes to your organisation’s recruitment planning, or your options to come to or remain in the UK with your family, speak to our immigration specialists.
Read more about UK family routes here >>
The full MAC family visa review can be viewed here >>
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
