Who will be affected by changes to family route visa applications?
"The Home Secretary tells Mr Clegg that outline plans for a reduction in numbers who come to Britain through the "family route" won "broad public support" in the coalition's consultation last year.
"In 2010, some 48,900 visas were issued under this category. The majority of those who come to settle in Britain using this method are women from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh."
Sunday Telegraph, 25 March 2012
The Sunday Telegraph claimed this weekend to have seen Government proposals to crackdown on immigration 'abuses' outlined by the Home Secretary Theresa May in a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
According to the paper, Ms May will raise the minimum income threshold for those seeking to bring a spouse or partner into the country from outside the EU from £13,700 to £25,700, and up to £62,200 if children are involved.
But how many families could this affect? The Sunday Telegraph claims that 48,900 family visas were issued in 2010, with most coming from the Indian sub-continent. Is this true?
Analysis
The 48,900 figure is one that appeared in a UK Border Agency consultation document from last summer, which described it as migration via the 'family route', minus those visas issued for refugee family reunion.
In turn, this sources the figure to the Home Office's Control of Immigration Statistics Q1 2011. Looking through this data gets us close to the 48,900 total, although getting to it precisely remains elusive.
In the 2010 calendar year some 53,753 entry clearance visas were issued via the family route, although it is possible that deducting the refugee families from this total would take us to the quoted 48,900.
According to the Government's Family Migration: Evidence and Analysis report however, there were 48,855 grants via the family route in 2010 (with a further 4,885 issued to refugee families).
However it is difficult to substantiate the claim that the majority of those coming to Britain in this way are women from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
What the Government's family migration data does show is that those three countries account for the top three places in a table of family visas granted by nationality in 2009 and 2010.
They also account for just over half of family settlements from the top 10 countries of origin, but closer to a third of applications overall.
Women also account for about 60 per cent of visa grants via the family route, meaning that if we assume that the proportion of female applicants from the Indian sub-continent is the same, women from these three countries would make up just under a fifth of family visa settlements.
Conclusion
The available data doesn't support the Telegraph's assertion that the majority of family route visa grants go to women from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. According to the Home Office's Family Migration: Evidence and Analysis report, the true proportion is closer to a fifth.
The 48,900 total quoted as the number of people entering the country via this route does seem to have more evidence behind it, and is mentioned in the same report.