That being said, while it is fine for workers, what the UK government have tried to do to people on family visas is very immoral. And has caused a lot of families to be separated.
- To sponsor a spouse you must make: £18,600
- To sponsor a spouse and one child you must make: £22,400 (+£2,400 for each additional child).
For reference the medium salary in the UK is around £22,044, the average is around £26,500 but neither tell the whole story, the UK has a wide salary disparity (in particular London Vs. elsewhere), and some charities project that the above rules preclude over a third of the population from bringing in their family.
Can you imagine being separated from your spouse and child because you don't make enough? Even if that spouse is perfectly able to work? And the worst part is that a lot of people get caught in a poverty trap, where they don't make enough to pay for the skills that they would need to escape it.
The problem is these types of rules come from London where wages are much higher and from very affluent individuals who came from money. They typically impact the poorest parts of the UK, but as they say "out of sight out of mind." Who cares if someone in north England cannot see their family for years... Certainly not Westminister.