Georgina Firth
The issue of family migration has long been a controversial area in immigration law, not least because it represents a particular set of challenges to a Government. Unlike decisions to admit a migrant for work or business, family migration brings to the fore a tension between the personal interests of those lawfully in the UK who wish to reunite with their family members and the desire of the Government to manage and often limit migration. One of the recurrent themes that emerges in policy in this area is a concern that family migrants and their British based sponsors should have sufficient financial resources to be able to support themselves and enable the migrant to participate and integrate into society without being a burden on the general taxpayer. In the Family Migration Consultation of July 2011, the government argued that too many family migrants are reliant on the low wages of their sponsor and risk needing welfare support.
LancsLaw 