Reunite Families UK says spouse and partner rules and Minimum Income Requirement damage adults, children, and society
Reunite Families UK (RFUK) last week published a major new report on the impacts of the UK's spouse and partner immigration rules. It is part of a broader 'Families Belong Together' research project that brings together 3 years of RFUK research.
You can download the 64-page report here.
RFUK is a non-profit support and campaign organisation representing families affected by the UK's family immigration rules, including the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR). Introduced in 2012, the MIR requires UK residents to earn above a set income in order to live in the UK with a non-British partner. RFUK says the policy has had devastating consequences for a huge number of couples and families, many of whom are unable to meet the income threshold or navigate the complex requirements of the spouse and partner visa system.
For its new report, RFUK used a mixed-methods research approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data to capture the impacts of the UK's family immigration system. The core of the research included an online survey targeting those affected by the spouse and partner migration rules since 2012, receiving over 1,500 responses – 745 of which were analysed in the report. Complementing the survey, two focus groups were held: one with 12 RFUK network members and another with 16 caseworkers from the Refugee and Migrant Centre in the West Midlands. RFUK also commissioned Coram Children's Legal Centre to conduct interviews with children whose families are directly impacted by the rules.
RFUK stated: "The accounts we have heard tell of the great strain that people face, and the changes of conditions that people experience because of the rules. Separation and increased financial pressure are two of the key themes that high numbers of people spoke of, which have had a great impact upon their lives. Others are exiled - some are living outside of the UK, and others are splitting their lives between two countries. Smaller numbers face relationship breakdown. Overall, 80% or 594 people have experienced one of these changes in their lives because of the rules."
Most families caught up in the UK's spouse and partner immigration rules say those rules are tearing at the very fabric of their lives. Three-quarters of survey respondents reported feeling that their sense of belonging in Britain has been steadily eroded, and many believe the country does not truly want them here. Rather than having time to make friends, join community groups or simply settle in, they find themselves working long hours to cover soaring visa and application costs - a burden 71% of respondents identified as a barrier, particularly women sponsoring their partners. Over half also struggled simply to understand a notoriously complex application process.
These financial and administrative hurdles do not just affect those on low incomes, the report explains. Even homeowners in established professions describe "detrimental impacts" on their careers and family lives. At the top of the list of obstacles is the MIR. More than 260 people said no local job paid enough to meet the threshold, while others could not work full-time due to caring responsibilities, health issues or low-paid NHS roles. Retirees living on pensions, self-employed people with irregular earnings, and those stuck in short-term contracts all face the same brick wall.
Nearly half of all those affected told RFUK that the rules have made it harder for them to work at all, whether because stress has undermined their mental health or because they have forgone training and career opportunities to earn more today. Academic researchers, entrepreneurs and creatives alike report putting projects on hold simply to keep the family afloat. The report says the rules fracture and divide communities, and rob families of the stability they need to thrive in Britain.
As the report highlights, families with children are especially vulnerable to the harsh impacts of the rules. While many couples face separation, financial strain, and impossible choices, families with children are even more likely to experience such life-altering disruptions: 91% of families surveyed reported at least one major negative change in their circumstances, compared to 80% of all respondents. This is largely because raising children brings extra costs and demands more time, leaving less capacity to earn the income required by the MIR or to meet strict savings thresholds. The result is intense pressure on parents and children alike, reducing families' ability to participate in community life and deepening social isolation.
The report explores the often 'impossible choices' facing families with children and the separation that many are forced to endure, noting: "Over months and years apart, relationships take a strain – children lose touch with absent parents, marriages are put under immense pressure – with some being destroyed completely - and those operating as single parents suffer from the great challenge of meeting the MIR whilst caring for children and holding a family together across borders. The task is impossible for many, who see no hope of a future together."
Many parents are forced to operate as de facto single parents for extended periods. Separation can become long-term or even indefinite if the sponsoring partner cannot secure the required income. And even "short-term" separations typically last around eight months: the sponsor must first return to the UK, find and secure a qualifying job, work in that role for six months, submit their application, and then await its review, which stretches family life almost endlessly in limbo.
The report highlights how the MIR's goal of reducing the financial burden on the state can backfire in practice. By forcing families into separation when a sponsoring partner cannot meet the income threshold, it often drives lone parents onto state support. One respondent explained: "I lost my job. I have to stay at home as my child is just not capable... if his father was here I could go back to work... instead I can't, I'm having to rely on benefits because the support I've got is not in this country."
The report also describes the profound and lasting trauma British children endure when separated from a parent. Research found that many suffer night terrors, sleep disturbances, and physical symptoms of anxiety, alongside emotional struggles such as identity confusion, anger outbursts, withdrawal, and even suicidal thoughts or self-harm. This undermines their confidence, disrupts their schooling and development, and in some cases results in permanent grief when a parent is effectively lost to the family.
"My daughters cry almost every night, dreaming about being with daddy, one is 7 years old and the other soon is 5, has been birthdays without him, special moments that they cry and lots of tantrum," one respondent is told RFUK.
While couples and families who can't afford the MIR can apply under the 'exceptional circumstances' route, the report says this is a "closed gate presented as an olive branch". With half of all UK workers falling below the income threshold, vast numbers must rely on this route just to stay together, calling into question its very exceptionality. Applicants must prove that refusal would breach their Article 8 rights by causing "unjustifiably harsh consequences," yet the guidance is vague, leading to costly refusals and appeals. Even after the Supreme Court's 2017 ruling in MM (Lebanon) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, children's best interests remain insufficiently weighed, and separation continues. Both families and the Home Office shoulder heavy administrative burdens, and the existence of this route only highlights how the main rules themselves urgently need reform, RFUK says.
Caseworkers at the Refugee and Migrant Centre in the West Midlands described the 'exceptional circumstances' rules as "nearly impossible to meet," highlighting that the test sets insurmountable obstacles for couples without children and requires them to prove "unjustifiably harsh consequences" - a threshold many are unable to reach.
As a result of its findings, the report sets out a comprehensive set of recommendations to address the deep harms caused by the UK's family immigration rules. At the core is a call to abolish the MIR entirely and establish a statutory right for British citizens and settled residents to live in the UK with their close family members. In the absence of such reform, RFUK urges the creation of a dedicated visa route for families with children, recognising the disproportionate impact of the current rules on parents and children. They recommend assessing these applications under more flexible criteria, offering temporary visas during processing, and introducing a legal duty to uphold family unity.
Additional recommendations include allowing prospective earnings and job offers to count toward the MIR, reducing separation times, simplifying application processes and English test requirements, improving fee waiver access, and ensuring better recognition of children's best interests in decision-making. The report also calls for reforming the so-called 'exceptional circumstances' route, which it says is neither truly exceptional nor fairly applied, and for fairer treatment of applicants who already contribute to the UK through taxes and work.
RFUK stated:
"The unintended consequences of the rules damage adults, children - and society. Adults and parents are in despair, and children feel angry, confused, and distressed. Couples are unable to start families because of not being able to settle in their home country with their loved one. Stable, secure family homes benefit society, but these rules undermine that stability and will likely result in more burden on public resources down the line, as people need healthcare and support to deal with the trauma they face or have faced whilst on this route; have elderly parents who will need social care in lieu of care from their children; or parents having to access welfare because their partner is not here to financially support them. The government admits the impact of the MIR increase on net migration is 'uncertain – possibly low tens of thousands,' while the higher Immigration Health Surcharge is said to have a 'negligible impact.' These outcomes do not justify the devastating effects on families and on society.
"The rules also harm diversity and social cohesion in the UK, targeting couples and families in a misguided attempt to manage migration. This issue is also a class issue: leaving bi-national working-class families particularly to suffer the pains of separation, single parenthood, and the lifelong implications that we know this instability causes. The current threshold of £29,000 impacts not just low-earners, but also many middle earners, with 50% of the working population unable to meet the threshold . An increase to £38,700 would in effect remove the right to live in the UK with a foreign-born partner to the majority of the UK's workforce, with only 30% of workers in the UK earning above this threshold.
"We believe in a diverse United Kingdom. We believe in a right to family life. We believe in the power of love, of parenting, of relationships and of families, as cornerstones of a healthy society. We believe that the right to love should not be defined by class. We have heard of the day-to-day abuse inflicted on couples and families by these rules. We have experienced this within our own lives, our own families and communities. We know this is not good for us."