Rishi Sunak has been urged to control the rapidly escalating ‘abuse’ of spousal visas in the UK.
Former home office minister Sarah Dines has claimed lax rules are allowing young women from India and Pakistan to be exploited for arranged marriages.
She also revealed how the number of spouse visas granted from those two countries in the past year had nearly trebled.
It comes as Tory Ministers were alarmed after Sunak watered down measures to cut net migration – less than three weeks after they were announced.
Ms Dines, who left government in Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle last month, spoke about the ‘increasing numbers of victims of domestic abuse.
Sarah Dines, a former Home Office minister, says the visa system is currently leading to abuse
Prime Minister Sunak backtracked on rising the minimum salary threshold on spouse visas
‘Many were very vulnerable due to their young age, the shortness of their marriage, lack of English language and community support,’ she told The Telegraph.
‘It became obvious to me that there are inadequate safeguards in differentiating genuine marriages from marriages of convenience which all too often resulted in abusive and exploitative relationships.
‘Spouse and partner visas are now being expedited, in my view, without proper regard for safeguarding vulnerable women and girls. Applications for these visas have more than doubled in the last year. The Government needs to address this abuse of the system immediately.’
Another area in which Sunak has faced criticism is not backing raising the minimum salary threshold to bring a partner to the UK raised to £38,700 in Spring 2024 from its current £18,600.
It now means this will not be implemented until the spring of 2025, after the election expected next autumn or winter.
Home Office figures, uncovered by Ms Dines, show that the number of family-related visas more than doubled in the year to September 2023 to 82,395, compared to 37,911 in the previous year.
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