Why are foreigners like me being punished for falling in love with a Brit?

When the government announced it was introducing a new minimum income threshold for Britons with foreign spouses, I saw red. As the foreign spouse of a UK national, I keep one eye trained on visa requirements, knowing the next price hike, the next policy change, the next time I have to prove I am worthy of being here is always around the corner. But the Tory government’s latest decision is its cruelest yet. It shows just how much contempt it has for the people it claims to be defending.

I met my husband 10 years ago as a student, when the minimum income requirement for UK nationals who wanted to marry and bring their foreign spouses here was £18,600. It has remained at this level since July 2012, making it achievable for many Brits in love. But, as of next spring, this threshold will be raised to £38,700 – a jaw-dropping increase of more than £20,000.

£38,700 is more than the median annual earnings for full-time employees, which stood at £34,963 by April 2023. Things look even more dire for people on minimum wage – who, at £11.44 per hour, would only earn just over £20,800, even if they worked 35 hours a week for an entire year, with no sick days or holidays. Women, who are still having to put up with the gender pay gap, are also more disproportionately affected by the new rule.

If I hadn’t got married when I did, in 2019, my husband wouldn’t have earned anywhere near enough to meet the threshold. And now, with one year left to go in my five-year route to indefinite leave to remain, I am simply lucky enough that he earns above the threshold so that the end is in sight. But this won’t be the case for many, many other couples, and my heart goes out to every single one who now faces an uncertain future that might mean either they say goodbye to one another – or to the UK.

Foreign spouses who are already here face being told they must leave when their visa is next up for renewal if their British spouse doesn’t earn enough. How many more couples and families will this tear apart? It will mean pushing back any dreams of living in the same space as the ones they love for an indefinite period of time. Even in one, two, three, five or 10 years, there is no guarantee they will ever reach that income level.

I think of the years my husband and I spent apart, making our long-distance relationship between Malaysia and the UK work. Only getting half a day to communicate via text message or Skype due to the time difference; spending thousands on flights just to be able to see one another once or twice a year, for a maximum of two weeks at a time; making plans for a future together.

We had simple ambitions: we wanted to wake up next to each other. We wanted to be able to see each other whenever and wherever we wanted. To not have to constantly say, “I really wish you were here” and “I miss you”. I am heartbroken to think of all the couples who I know have the same dreams, but won’t be able to make them a reality because of this cruel new change.

The Tories promised they would stop illegal migration by “stopping the boats” and sending refugees to Rwanda – both of which they have tried to achieve via unlawful and inhumane means (and failed). Now, they’re taking aim at their own British citizens, who will suffer so much hurt and loss because of these new requirements. It is almost as though they are punishing people for daring to fall in love with a foreigner, for daring to form meaningful relationships and connections with people who are not like them. It’s xenophobic and unjust, reserving such a love only for the wealthy and well-connected.

As for those who claim it will take the burden of supporting migrants off the taxpayer, please let me educate you. Many, many migrants on family visas have jobs here and are, therefore, UK taxpayers too. We do not have access to public funds, which means we can’t claim any social welfare benefits and public housing. Each time we renew our visas, which is every 2.5 years for a spouse visa, we pay over £1,000 for the application and a further £624 per year (that’s £1,560 for 2.5 years) for the Immigration Health Surcharge, which effectively means we pay even more for the NHS on top of tax.

In October, these fees went up. Family settlement and citizenship fees increased by 20 per cent. The health surcharge will rise by 66 per cent to £1,035 per year, a change that is expected to begin next January. We are cash cows to the UK government, who will wring us dry and still turn around to tell us they do not really want us here.

These new policies show just how little they think of us – and the Britons who love us.