New changes to the Immigration Rules: refugees, children, English language and many others

5 March 2026

The UK government published a statement of changes to the Immigration Rules on 5 March 2026 which outlines a broad series of changes, most of which will take effect in the at some point in the next month.

Let’s get the two biggest questions out of the way first.

Do these changes implement the doubling of the qualifying period to 10 years for people in a five-year route?

No. This change is now expected to take effect in the autumn.

Do these changes close to the 10-year long residence route under Appendix FM?

No. As above, we now expect this change to take effect in the autumn.

“Visa Brake”: changes to the Student and Skilled Worker route

This is a term introduced by the new changes which, as previously briefed by the press, will exclude people of four nationalities from qualifying for entry clearance in the Student route:

• Afghanistan
• Cameroon
• Myanmar
• Sudan

Further, nationals of Afghanistan will no longer be able to lodge Skilled Worker applications from abroad, when applying as a main applicant.

Both of these changes take effect on 26 March 2026. However, applications lodged before this date will be considered under the current rules, representing a short window in which eligible students can apply to enter on this basis.

These changes do not apply to people already in the UK – only those applying for entry clearance. The explanatory memorandum that accompanies the statement of changes suggests the changes may be temporary and subject to change at a later date.

Path to settlement for refugees: shorter grants and active review

In line with what was previously floated by the Home Office, refugees who successfully claim asylum on or after 2 March 2026 will now be granted 30 months of permission instead of the current five years. This applies to both grants of asylum and Humanitarian Protection.

Claims or further submissions lodged before this date will still get five years, as now. Unaccompanied asylum children are also not affected by these changes.

The changes also introduce “active review” to the Rules, meaning that when the Home Office is considering an application for further leave or settlement/ILR, it will examine whether it is now safe for the applicant to return home.

All of these changes take effect on 26 March 2026, with no additional provisional provisions other than those listed above.

There are also changes codifying the process of lodging further submissions within the Rules, which takes effect on 8 April 2026.

There is also a provision added to allow the Home Office to disclose the fact that an asylum claim had been made where “there is a public interest in doing so”.

Refugees: right to work

Asylum seekers who have waited for over a year for their claim to be decided can request permission from the Home Office to work. At present, this can be any employment as long as it’s included in Appendix Immigration Salary List.

The reference to this Appendix will be deleted and instead, eligible asylum seekers will only be permitted to work in a role that appears on Appendix Skilled Occupations, as long as it is RQF skill level 6 or above (i.e. degree level in job skill level, not necessarily academic attainment). This change takes effect on 26 March 2026.

As with the previous situation with jobs on the Immigration Salary List, asylum seekers who have permission would not need to be sponsored by employers, who could avoid all the duties that go with sponsorship, including paying the going rate.

Nationals of Nicaragua and St Lucia lose visa-free/ETA travel

Citizens of these countries can currently enter the UK as a visitor on an ETA. These changes apply at 3pm today (5 March 2026).

However, there are transitional provisions for anyone who has been granted an ETA before this and has confirmed booking for travelling to the UK, as long as they enter the UK before 3pm on 16 April 2026.

Skilled Worker route: changes relating to pay periods

From 7 April 2026 the salary requirements under the Skilled Worker route will be changed to make it clear that sponsored workers must be consistently paid the correct salary within specific pay periods.  These changes are intended to allow UKVI to intervene faster against sponsors suspected of underpaying their staff, without needing to make the comparison against a full year of averaged salary receipts, and appear to go hand-in-glove with the ongoing data-sharing arrangement UKVI has in place with HMRC.  Specifically sponsors should have regard to the following:

• The salary paid to the worker in each pay period must equal or exceed the going rate for their SOC code for every hour worked in that pay period
• Subject to permitted salary subtractions and uneven hours:

• • Where the worker is paid at a frequency of monthly or less, the salary paid over any three-month period must be at least equal to a quarter of the required annual salary
  • Where the worker is paid more frequently, the salary paid to the worker over any 12-week period must be at least equal to 12/52 of the required annual salary

• If the worker is being sponsored to work a pattern where the regular hours are not the same each week, resulting in uneven pay, the sponsor must confirm the working pattern and the salary over any 17-week period must be at least equal to 17/52 of the required annual salary
• The sponsor must confirm any permitted salary subtractions taking place over a shorter period than the length of time the applicant is being sponsored for, to account for differences in their salary records

Skilled Worker route: prison officers

From 7 April 2026, applicants being sponsored in roles falling within SOC 2020 occupation code “3314 Prison service officers (below principal officer)” can claim points for a job at the appropriate skill level under Option F of Appendix Skilled Worker, where they are switching from other routes (such as Graduate) where they do not meet the transitional criteria.

In line with Option F, the applicant must be paid the higher of the transitional general salary threshold of £31,300, or the pro-rated going rate for the occupation code.

This will apply for permission to stay applications only. Where someone is switching into Skilled Worker on this basis, the application must be submitted before 1 January 2028 and the end date of the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) cannot be more than three years after the start date.  The rule changes appear to allow extensions on this basis beyond the initial period of three years, as long as they were granted permission in this SOC code based on a CoS assigned to them before 1 January 2027.

No new dependants are permitted to enter the UK under these arrangements but specific provisions have been introduced to allow existing dependants already here to join the main applicant with an application for permission to stay.  The measures are stated as time-limited and conditional, and do not guarantee a route to settlement.

Children: settlement applications

Following the government’s loss in the Court of Appeal in the case of R (on the application of Kone) v SSHD [2025], which briefly opened up a new faster path for settlement for children with one settled parent and one with temporary permission, the Rules are now being amended to close it again.

This provision takes effect on 26 March 2026, with no transitional provisions.

Criminality provisions

Part Suitability, which contains the criminality and suitability grounds for refusal, and applies to almost all applications, is being amended:

(1)   The mandatory ground for refusal on the basis of a 12 month custodial sentence is being expanded to also include suspended sentences of the same length.

(2)  The discretionary provision for refusals on the basis of current or previous breach of immigration law is being expanded to also apply to visa applications overseas in addition to the current applications in the UK and applications on arrival.

These changes take effect on 26 March 2026, with no transitional provisions.

Threshold for deportation

Paragraph 13.1.1 of Part 13 of the Immigration Rules, which defines who is liable for deportation on the basis of a sentence-threshold conviction, currently applies only to anyone with a custodial sentence of 12 months or longer. This is being amended to include anyone with a suspended sentence of the same duration, provided they are convicted on or after 22 March 2026.

This change takes effect on 22 March 2026.

Ukraine Scheme extension

The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme is, as promised, being updated to permit eligible people already in the route to extend their permission for a further 24 months.

A further change is made to permit applicants to apply within 90 days before their permission is due to expire (it is currently 28 days).

These changes will take effect on 8 April 2026.

Visitor rules

The only change being made is the Appendix Visitor: Permit Free Festival List being updated.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier

These changes will implement the UK/India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (“CETA”), under Appendix Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier. There will be an annual allocation of 1,800 spots for Indian nationals for the job roles of traditional chef, classical musician or yoga instructor, running from 1 January to 31 December of each year.

The maximum single assignment period will be the difference between the period the applicant has already spent in the UK since their last grant of permission as a Service Supplier, and 12 months (i.e. 12 months at a time).

These changes will take effect on 25 March 2026

Global Business Mobility – Secondment worker

From 7 April 2026, applicants applying in this route will need to have worked outside the UK for their overseas employer for a cumulative period of at least six months (down from 12 months) before entering the route.

EU Settlement Scheme

A new suitability requirement is being introduced to allow the Home Office to refuse an application, where proportionate, if an applicant has assisted another person with fraudulently obtaining, or attempting to obtain, permission to enter or stay.

The definition of ‘required date’ (i.e. the deadline to apply) relating to further applications is being amended.  This previously referred to where a person “has or had leave” under Appendix EU, which is now being amended to requiring them to have leave under Appendix EU at the date of application.  This is likely a reflection of the automated extensions of pre-settled status (PSS) which mean that if a person no longer has leave, this is likely to be the result of their leave being cancelled.

The definition of “specified relevant documents” (in relation to identity, re-use of biometrics and also allowing overseas applications) is also being amended to extend the time a non-EEA national can rely on a Biometric Residence Card from 18 months to 60 months.

These changes will come in on 29 April 2026.

There are also changes to Appendix EU (Family Permit) to introduce a new validity requirement. Where you are applying on the basis of FP6(1), i.e. as a family member of relevant EEA citizen, you must provide “specified sponsor evidence”.

“Specified sponsor evidence” is a new definition, requiring an applicant to evidence that the relevant EEA citizen qualifies as such (e.g. Home Office UAN for a grant of leave under Appendix EU or other suitable evidence) and evidence the applicant qualifies as a family member (e.g. marriage/civil partnership evidence, birth certificate).

They are allowed to request the original document if they have reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of a copy.
These changes take effect from 8 April 2026.

Youth Mobility Scheme

The quota for each relevant country has been updated for 2026 as follows:
• Andorra – 100 places
• Australia – 38,500 places
• Canada – 10,000 places
• Hong Kong – 1,000 places
• Iceland – 1,000 places
• India – 3,000 places
• Japan – 6,000 places
• Monaco – 1,000 places
• New Zealand – 8,000 places
• Republic of Korea – 5,000 places
• San Marino – 1,000 places
• Taiwan – 1,000 places
• Uruguay – 500 places

In all cases, the allocated slots for places on the Youth Mobility Scheme (including the India Young Professionals Scheme) have either stayed the same or slightly increased. These changes take effect on 8 April 2026.

Changes to application procedure

Paragraph 34(5)(a) of Part 1 of the Immigration Rules is being amended as follows:

“(5) (a) Subject to paragraph 34(5)(c), the applicant must provide have provided proof of identity as described in 34(5)(b) below and in accordance with the process set out in the application form.”

This rule relates to the requirement for an applicant to prove their identity when they make an immigration application, such as by way of a passport. The explanatory memorandum explains that this is intended to reduce the number of times an applicant has to attend a biometrics centre in their journey to settlement:

“The change to Rule 34(5)(a) will reduce the need for applicants to keep having to attend a Visa and Citizenship Application Service (VCAS) centre every time they make an immigration application. This will enable applicants who have previously enrolled their biometrics under controlled conditions, such as at a VCAS centre, and who are making a new immigration application, to have their identity reused. Identity reuse means that where a person’s identity was previously assured to a satisfactory standard (e.g. when they were granted entry clearance or further immigration permission) this can be reused in certain subsequent applications. This means that the individual does not need to re-establish their identity by producing an in-date passport, or other form of satisfactory identification document. It will be achieved by the applicant uploading a ‘live’ facial image using the Generic Identity Document Verification (GIDV) app, which will be biometrically compared to the image they enrolled under controlled conditions and is stored on the Immigration and Asylum Biometric System (IABS).”

This is expected to represent the first step to further improvements which are expected to reduce the need for repeated biometrics appointments.

This will take effect from 8 April 2026.

Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse

These changes remove the maintenance and accommodation requirements for anyone applying as a dependant child under this Appendix, as well as removing the current English language and Life in the UK test requirements for dependants in this route who turn 18.

These changes take effect on 26 March 2026.

Higher English language requirements for applications

The English language requirement for settlement (ILR) in most categories under the Immigration Rules is being increased from CERF B1 to B2.

The changes are being made to Appendix KoLL (which applies to categories like the spouse and parent routes under Appendix FM), as well as pretty much every individual work and business route that has its own category-specific provision.

These changes take effect on 26 March 2026. However, the amendment contain transitional provisions which mean that these changes will only affect settlement applications lodged on or after 26 March 2027.

British National (Overseas)

The BN(O) route is being amended to include the adult children of someone with BN(O) nationality if they were born after 1 July 1979 for eligibility under this route.

People with a chipped BN(O) passport or a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)

passport applying in this route will now be able to use the ID Check app when applying for settlement, as long as they are current or have expired in the last five years.

These changes take effect on 8 April 2026.

Global Talent visa improvements

Changes are being introduced to provide an endorsement pathway for design industry candidates. It is unclear which endorsement body will be responsible for this field.

This change will take effect on 1 July 2026.

Changes are also being made to simplify the fast-track pathway for candidates covered by the following endorsing bodies: the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society and will cover:

“all PhD-level roles in an approved UK Higher Education Institution or research institute, where the applicant either has responsibility for academic, research or innovation leadership and development, or whose role requires them to perform research or innovation as a primary function”.

These changes will take effect on 8 April 2026.

Seasonal Workers

An applicant for a Seasonal Worker visa must not have been in the UK as a Seasonal Worker in the four months before applying.

A minor change, which will take effect on 8 April 2026, will mean that the relevant date that is used as a reference to calculate the period of time spent in the UK will now be the start date, as stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship, instead of the date of the visa application.

Expect more changes to UK immigration and settlement

These are the first of many sweeping changes that are expected to take place this year.

If you have any questions about how any of these changes might affect you or your business, it may be advisable to contact an immigration practitioner for advice and assistance.

Alex Piletska is a Senior Associate at Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law. She specialises in a wide range of private immigration, including complex human rights cases, skilled migration and everything in between. She has a particular interest in complex citizenship and nationality cases, vanishingly tricky Adult Dependent Relative applications, Judicial Review and technical procedural issues like validity and variations. Alex often writes and comments on UK immigration issues in the media.