New Settlement Requirements for UK after the Supreme Court Decision.

The previously spoken-about "new" requirements for settlement visa applications (where the 18,600 GBP threshold is not met) have today been published by the Home Office. As suspected, in order for the additional routes to meet the 18,600 GBP threshold, the applicant/sponsor must meet the "exceptional circumstances" requirement.  Even the guidance from UKVI says that this requirement is set "high", meaning, I guess, that very few will ever meet the "high bar" that has been set .  For instance, this is a taste of the guidance on Exceptional Circumstances (my emphasis) :

What are exceptional circumstances?

“Exceptional” does not mean “unusual” or “unique”. Whilst all cases are to some extent unique, those unique factors do not generally render them exceptional. For example, a case is not exceptional just because the criteria set out in EX.1 of Appendix FM have been missed by a small margin. Instead, “exceptional” means circumstances in which refusal would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the individual or their family such that refusal of the application would not be proportionate under Article 8. If the family could all go to the country of return together but they choose to separate, this will not in itself constitute exceptional circumstances. However, the decision maker should not usually make a decision that forces a family to split if there is no criminality to add weight to the public interest in removal. Cases that raise exceptional circumstances that warrant a grant of leave outside the rules are likely to be rare.

The new Appendix FM 1.7 is attached.

Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_Final.pdf