Washington, Oct 5 (TIWN) US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation that bars legal immigrants who have no health coverage or cannot prove that they can pay for healthcare costs within 30 days of their arrival in the country.

The new rule, which comes into force on 3 November, will be applied to people seeking immigrant visas, not those in the US already. It does not apply to those seeking asylum seekers, refugees or children.

But it would apply to the spouses and parents of US citizens. That could have an impact on families who are trying to bring their parents to the US.

The proclamation said immigrants will be barred from entering the country unless they are to be covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering or have enough financial resources to pay for any medical costs.

The Trump administration is trying to move away from a family-based immigration system and into a merit-based system, and Friday’s proclamation is another effort to limit immigrant access to public programs.