RESTRICTIVE income thresholds and the Tories’ obsession with draconian immigration rules will result in many families facing a bleak 2018 separated from their loved ones, the SNP has warned.

The UK Government introduced the restrictions in July 2012, which now require that any UK citizen or settled person who wants to sponsor a spouse to live with them here must earn at least £18,600 a year.

This rises to £22,400 for a first child and an additional £2400 for each subsequent child.

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The rules state that the minimum income must be met entirely by the UK citizen, and no account can be taken of the foreign spouse’s prospective earnings, family support, or local wage levels and living costs.

Previously the salary threshold had been £5500 per year and included the spouse’s prospective earnings.

The changes have had a disproportionately negative impact on people in Scotland, as 41 per cent of UK citizens here do not earn enough to sponsor a spouse, and more than half (53 per cent) do not earn enough to sponsor a spouse and child. This compares to 27 per cent and 34 per cent respectively in London.

As a result, many families were forced to spend Christmas apart.

In 2015 England’s Children’s Commissioner estimated there were around 15,000 UK children growing up in “Skype families” – whose only contact with a stranded parent abroad was via Skype – because Tory immigration rules do not allow both of their parents to live together in the UK. The Commissioner’s report found that “many children are reportedly suffering from significant stress and anxiety from the separation of their parents as a result” and called for more flexibility in the rules.

SNP immigration asylum and border control spokesperson, Stuart McDonald, said: “Many families are facing a bleak 2018 as Tory immigration rules mean they can’t be together.

“Christmas is a time that brings families together but the Tory government kept many families apart – separating spouses and keeping children away from their parents.

“We’ve heard the recent news that Prince Harry is to marry American Meghan Markle and she has moved to the UK – and that’s great, but we need to ensure all UK citizens and settled persons can bring the people they love into the country.”

McDonald added that the “one-size-fits-all” policy made no sense and was damaging Scotland.

“These Tory immigration rules are unreasonable, inflexible, irrational, and they are having a disproportionately negative impact on people in Scotland.

“It cannot be right that around half of Scottish people earn less than is now required by the restrictive income threshold that the UK Government has imposed – migration rules should not suit the richest few at the expense of the majority.

“The evidence shows the one-size-fits-all rules make no sense. People who could be united with their loved ones, who would make a valued contribution to society and a valuable contribution to the economy, are instead being excluded to the detriment of the country. Added to this, thousands of children across the UK face the intolerable situation where their main contact with their stranded parent is through Skype.

“Instead of obsessing over damaging and arbitrary targets, and adding to the hostile environment that is turning skilled migrants away, the UK Government should reform the immigration system so it meets Scotland’s needs and makes the most of the huge economic and social benefits that migrants bring.”