UK top court okay with income test for non-EUs

London, February 22 

Britain’s top court backed a government attempt to limit immigration by ruling on Wednesday that an income test for those who want to bring their non-European spouses to the UK is acceptable and does not infringe human rights.

The Supreme Court said the minimum income requirement of 18,600 pounds a year had caused significant hardship to many, but ruled that in principle it was not inconsistent with the European Convention on Human Rights.

"The fact that a rule causes hardship to many, including some who are in no way to blame for the situation in which they now find themselves, does not mean that it is incompatible with the Convention rights or otherwise unlawful at common law," the court said.

The income threshold, it added, was "part of an overall strategy aimed at reducing net migration," with aims that were "no doubt entirely legitimate."

The court also said the current rules did not adequately account for the protection of children or the possibility that alternative sources of funding be allowed other than the income of the Briton. Currently, 

the income of the non-European spouse does not count towards the income requirement. — Reuters