The spiritual head of Anglican churches, Archbishop Justin Welby, has spoken out about the UK’s plan to revise its immigration requirements as early as next spring.
The topic of this year’s annual debate in the House of Lords was “Love Matters.”
And while speaking on the topic of families, the Archbishop took the opportunity to give his two cents on the UK’s new set of immigration measures. He stated that while the government was ‘rightly concerned’ to reduce the net migration figures, which shot up to 745,000 in 2022, he said that there was a “cost to be paid” once it’s implemented next year.
As it stands, the new measures will significantly increase the required salary for skilled foreign workers to stay in the country to £38,700. It will also require British citizens who wish to bring in foreign family members or partners to have a salary of £38,700, a figure that’s more than twice the previous threshold of £18,600
Welby on Immigration
Furthermore, it will also prohibit care workers from bringing in their family members to the country, regardless of their monthly earnings.
Welby said that the measures will put strain on the family ties of their workers, particularly those who work in social care.
He argued that the government needs families to work, so they must not set a series of hurdles for them to jump over. Without the presence of strong families, the archbishop stated that this would eventually destabilize their society.
Care Worker from Zimbabwe
A recently published piece in The Guardian told the stories of individuals whose futures are in jeopardy because of the new immigration rules.
One story in particular falls in line with what the Archbishop talked about. A 41-year-old Zimbabwean community care and support worker named Bridget stated that she came to the country because of her ‘passion for caring’; however, things haven’t been particularly smooth sailing for her since she left her two sons, aged 11 and 18, back in her home country.
She had intended to look for a new place as soon as possible and to bring her two sons on a family visa to the UK, but the changes to the visa rules have ended her dreams of living in the UK.
She went on to say that she’s now considering returning home considerably earlier than expected.
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Cover Photo: IG