By Alexandra Rogers, political reporter

Rishi Sunak has said the higher threshold for a family visa will rise in 2025 after he came under fire from Tory MPs for rowing back on plans to introduce it next spring.

The prime minister said the government was “increasing the salary threshold significantly” to £38,700 in “early 2025” – a change from the original plan laid out by Home Secretary James Cleverly earlier this month.

The threshold for a family visa – which applies to Britons who wish to bring family members to the UK – was due to rise from £18,600 to £38,700 next spring in a bid to reduce legal net migration, which hit a record high last year.

But on Thursday night the Home Office quietly watered down the measure, saying the threshold would first be raised to £29,000 from the spring, and then increased in “incremental stages” – though no timetable was set for when the top figure would be introduced.

Tory MPs on the right of the party immediately criticised the change, with David Jones, deputy chairman of the right-wing European Research Group, telling the PA news agency it was a “regrettable sign of weakness” while Jonathan Gullis, a Conservative former minister wrote on X that it was “deeply disappointing and undermines our efforts”.

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