Rishi Sunak has been accused of “weakness” as he faced an angry Tory backlash over his latest climbdown.
The prime minister confirmed that visa changes designed to reduce immigration have been delayed by a year until 2025.
Home secretary James Cleverly announced three weeks ago that the amount a British worker must earn before they can bring a partner to the UK from overseas would rise from £18,600 to £38,700 next spring.
That provoked a major backlash, with critics saying the changes risked breaking up families.
The government quietly announced on Thursday night that the salary threshold will initially only go up to £29,000.
Right-wing Tory MPs hit out at the move, with David Jones, deputy chairman of the backbench European Research Group, saying it was a “regrettable sign of weakness”.
Stoke-on-Trent North MP Jonathan Gullis said the decision was “deeply disappointing and undermines our efforts” to reduce immigration.
Speaking on Friday, the prime minister said the threshold would finally hit £38,700 in 2025 and denied he had performed an embarrassing U-turn.
He said: “The principle here is absolutely right that if people are bringing dependants into this country as part of their family, they must be able to support them.
“We’re doing exactly as we said we would. We’re just doing it in two stages. So it will go up in a few months time and then it will go up again the full amount in early 2025.”