Recommendation 19

We consider that there are several steps the Government could take to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic on the ability of visa holders and applicants to meet requirements. These could include: (Paragraph 73) • Enabling individuals whose employment or income has been negatively impacted by the pandemic to prove financial sustainability by demonstrating ‘adequate maintenance’ rather than having to meet the Minimum Income Requirement, as is currently done for some people in receipt of welfare benefits and which was the requirement on all applicants prior to 2012; • Allowing a wider range of income sources to contribute towards meeting financial requirements; • Giving similar flexibility over sources for satisfying the Minimum Income Requirement to people on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or the Self- Employment Income Support Scheme as is already offered to individuals facing exceptional circumstances; • Taking furlough, illness, or other Covid-19 related job absences or income losses into account by allowing people to provide six months’ worth of evidence over the previous year instead of just the last six months, or allowing for a letter from an employer to count as proof of continuing employment instead of income proof; • Suspending the Minimum Income Requirement for those individuals applying for indefinite leave to remain after five years of residence in the UK, as they will have satisfied the requirement for the previous five years. We call on the Home Office to consider and implement a combination of these measures to provide the appropriate flexibility required as a result of the pandemic and write to us with its conclusions. It should also ensure that where people are benefiting from this additional flexibility they are still able to remain on their current route to residency, and should not be moved onto a longer route. (Paragraph 73) Home Office preparedness for Covidd19 (coronavirus): immigration and visas 35