Suspended sentences and automatic exclusion: Vanessa’s article on the UK’s tougher immigration rules

31 March 2026

Vanessa Ganguin explains the consequences of extending mandatory visa refusals and revocations for 12 month custodial sentences to suspended sentences in Solicitors Journal this week. Managing Partner Vanessa writes about a barely reported yet draconian new immigration measures that mean from 26 March 2026, anyone who has received a suspended sentence of at least 12 months – either in the UK or abroad – face having their UK visa refused or revoked, regardless of how long ago the crime took place.

The changes to Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules – the framework in the UK Immigration Rules for refusing and cancelling people’s permission to be in the UK or settle – are in line with the Sentencing Act 2026 which removes provisions that previously excluded suspended sentences from counting as a period of imprisonment for the purposes of defining a foreign national offender. A sentence of a year, whether suspended or not, would mean automatic liability for deportation – a framework for excluding people from the UK that is significantly more draconian than the threat of mere administrative removal.

These changes affect those not yet settled in the UK and follow last November’s amendment of Part Suitability of the UK Immigration Rules, which considerably tightened them for applications by family members such as children, parents, spouses and partners. We wrote about this development in more detail here.

Previously, someone sentenced to between 12 months and four years for a criminal offence was generally able to join their family in the UK as long as 10 years have passed since. Since November any conviction with a prison sentence of 12 months or more will now attract a mandatory refusal for those wishing to join loved ones in the UK, no matter where in the world the offence occurred or how much time has passed since the end of their sentence.

Now even if the offence only warranted a suspended sentence, this would still mean a lifetime ban from the UK. There are also no transitional provisions to protect those already investing in lives in the UK in good faith.

You can read more about these changes here.

“This is just one of a raft of controversial measures that the Home Secretary is currently risking a rebellion among Labour colleagues to implement,” Vanessa warns in Solicitors Journal.  “This Autumn she promises to make many people’s path to settle in the UK more protracted, precarious and expensive. Many organisations have warned that the hurdles Shabana Mahmood proposes in her “earned settlement” review will prejudice women, children and those on lower-salaried jobs, harming their ability to make a life for themselves here.

Among her proposals is an insistence that a “clean criminal record” will be necessary to settle in the UK – suggesting something even more draconian may be intended.”

Please contact us if you are concerned about how any of these developments will affect you, your employees or your family, or if you would like to instruct us on any UK immigration, nationality, right to work and sponsorship procedures and compliance issues. You can use the form below, email one of our lawyers or call 0207 033 9527.