A police officer working in Manchester says he has been forced to quit his job after Rishi Sunak increased the salary requirement to apply for his Italian wife’s post-Brexit immigration to the UK.
Activists have warned that his story of suffering due to Brexit is being replicated throughout the nation in low-wage public sectors, where many EU nationals are employed.
Italian Dani, has been a resident of the nation since 2017. He is considered a fully settled individual under the EU’s post-Brexit residency scheme.
He is only £4,000 short of the £29,000 required to serve as a sponsor for the entry of a foreign family member into the country, having begun a two-year probationary period to train as a detective.
Because it took me a very long time to get into this job, it is stressful. I didn’t want to quit, because I was enjoying my work and was doing well in this area. I have to start over now. I’m not sure what I’ll do when my wife and I return to Italy. Will we have to go somewhere else?
His PhD in clinical sports was received in Glasgow, and he joined the force after completing a two-year graduate program that, if trainers and trainees are paid, can cost over £100,000 in total.
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Dani got married in 2022, but he continued living his life as many other EU nationals do in that
Britain, focusing on the strict verification and screening process that lasted a full year to be admitted to the Greater Manchester Police Detective Programme, which he completed in May 2023.
The salary threshold for a family member who was a member of the police force at the time of his entry was £18,600.
However, as part of Rishi Sunak’s phased-in doubling of the sponsorship salary threshold to £38,700, the family sponsorship threshold was increased to £29,000 in the spring.
For a 2-year and 9-month visa, those who can pay the £29,000 fee must additionally pay an application fee of £1,846 and the healthcare surcharge of £3,105. They must then reapply before the visa expires.
His wife, a hospitality manager also has a seven-year-old from a previous relationship. “She could easily find a job” in the UK, he claims. But lawyers have informed him he has little chance of success and that applying could waste £10,000 to £12,000.
EU citizens were assured that Brexit would not affect their rights. It was a promise that was broken. The need for a minimum income is dividing our families. Since the majority of people do not make £38,700, love is now a luxury for a select few.
According to Greater Manchester police, the Home Office ought to explain.
The Home Office stated that the new government would decide how to proceed with the sponsorship thresholds. Normally, the agency declines to comment on specific cases in response to inquiries about Brexit-related residency issues, preferring to restate the UK’s support for EU citizens.
It said, “The new Home Secretary will decide in due course how to proceed with the current Home Office policies.”
Every family reunion application was assessed on its own merits.
