Parliament was informed that a record number of people are attempting to influence the decision over raising the minimum income required for a family visa to enter the United Kingdom.

Currently, British people must earn at least £29,000 per year in order to sponsor a spouse or partner's visa.

By early this year, the Tory government planned to increase this to £38,700.

However, the new Labour government has put the raise on hold and requested that the government's migration advisers reassess the best level to establish it at.

Immigration minister Seema Malhotra told a Commons debate on family visas: “The Migration Advisory Committee has already completed a call for evidence.

“It may be of interest to the House that that call for evidence, which gathered the views of stakeholders and those affected by changes to family rules and closed on 11 December, saw more than 2,000 responses—a record for a Migration Advisory Committee consultation.”

The issue was being debated after more than 100,000 people signed an e-petition on the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) which was introduced in 2012 at a level of £18,600.

The e-petition stated: “Most people in the UK don’t make £38,700 per year and now may face the choice of a lifetime without their partner or leaving their own country because they fell in love and can’t meet the financial requirement for the family visa.

“We believe it’s inhumane for the Government to do this to British citizens and others entitled to family visas.”

Irene Campbell, Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, moved the debate in Westminster Hall, explaining: “A person can apply for a family visa to live with a spouse, fiancé, child, parent or relative who will provide them with long-term care.”

She criticised raising the MIR to £38,700 saying it was “unrealistic for most people living outside London and south-east England”.

Carla Denyer, Green MP for Bristol Central, added: “We are talking about a tax on love: an ugly policy that fundamentally discriminates against migrants’ families and implies that love, and family reunification, is a privilege that people must earn enough to afford.”

Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Manchester Rusholme, stressed: “Many of my constituents have signed the petition, and they say that they struggle to have a family life in the UK due to the previous Government’s 55% increase in the income requirement for family visas.”

But Katie Lam, Tory MP for the Weald of Kent, emphasised: “The role of Government is to determine what is right for the country, not for any one person, couple or family, so we must place this discussion in its national context: managing overall migration to Britain.”

Ms Malhotra, Labour MP for Feltham and Heston, stressed the Government was determined to cut net migration levels which hit 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

But she also explained that the MIR would be set at level so it was part of an immigration system which was “fair, clear and consistent”.