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Changes to the Immigration Rules, fees and Home Office policy that affect applications now. Every item links to the official source. Last reviewed 18 August 2026.
3 August 2026 · Immigration Rules
Summer rules package HC 259 now in force
The Home Office laid statement of changes HC 259 on 9 July 2026. The EU Settlement Scheme amendments started on 30 July and the rest followed on 3 August. UK-born children of Graduate route holders can now apply as dependants, a partner permission is aligned with the shorter grant now given to sponsors with protection status, the fingerprint requirement for EUSS travel permits has gone, and criminality refusals now reach suspended sentences of 12 months or more.
Who it affects: Graduate route families, partners of people with protection status, EUSS travel permit applicants
Official source on GOV.UK
1 July 2026 · eVisa
Visa stickers withdrawn as eVisas take over
UK Visas and Immigration stopped placing vignette stickers in passports for successful new applicants on 1 July 2026. First-time arrivals now travel on a digital eVisa, collecting a form for accompanying an eVisa where one is issued. Home Office travel documents have been linked automatically to UKVI accounts since 11 March 2026. Anyone still relying on legacy paperwork should create a UKVI account before booking travel.
Who it affects: Everyone applying for entry clearance and anyone still holding paper documents
Official source on GOV.UK
9 April 2026 · EU Settlement Scheme
Settled status now granted automatically for many
An enhanced automated system went live on 9 April 2026. It converts eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status without an application by checking for 30 months of tax or benefit records in the previous 60 months. Around 1.4 million people held pre-settled status at the end of 2025. From the same date the Home Office also began removing pre-settled status where continuous residence appears broken, starting with the longest absences.
Who it affects: Pre-settled status holders, especially those with long absences or thin UK records
Official source on GOV.UK
8 April 2026 · Fees
Home Office fees rise across almost every route
Revised charges took effect at 9am on 8 April 2026. Most rates rose by roughly five to ten per cent. A Skilled Worker visa applied for outside the UK for more than three years went from 1,519 to 1,618 pounds, indefinite leave to remain from 3,029 to 3,226 pounds, naturalisation from 1,605 to 1,709 pounds, and a large worker sponsor licence from 1,579 to 1,682 pounds. Two nationality fees were reduced to 1,000 pounds.
Who it affects: Every applicant and every sponsor licence holder
Official source on GOV.UK
5 March 2026 · Settlement
Settlement will require A-level standard English from 2027
Ministers confirmed that most settlement applicants will need English at CEFR level B2 instead of B1. The government describes the change as moving from GCSE to A-level standard and estimates around 200 extra hours of study. It takes effect on 26 March 2027, deliberately with a year notice, and it reaches people already part-way through a five-year route. Work route entry has required B2 since 8 January 2026.
Who it affects: Almost anyone planning an indefinite leave to remain application from March 2027
Official source on GOV.UK
26 March 2026 · Immigration Rules
March package cuts refugee leave and adds a visa brake
HC 1691 was presented on 5 March 2026 and most of it began on 26 March. Refugee and humanitarian protection leave falls from five years to 30 months with a review at that point. A nationality-based visa brake refuses out-of-country Student applications from Afghan, Cameroonian, Burmese and Sudanese nationals, and Skilled Worker applications from Afghans. Visit visas were imposed on Nicaragua and St Lucia, and Skilled Worker salary is now tested in each pay period.
Who it affects: Refugees, sponsors recruiting from four listed countries, Skilled Worker employers
Official source on GOV.UK
12 February 2026 · Earned settlement
Earned settlement consultation closes, response awaited
The consultation on earned settlement ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026. It proposes replacing automatic settlement after a fixed qualifying period with a contribution-based model built around a ten-year baseline, faster for some workers and much slower for others. No outcome has been published as at August 2026. The Home Affairs Committee reported on 13 March 2026, calling for clearer exceptions to income tests and protection for children raised in the UK.
Who it affects: Anyone on a five-year route to settlement
Official source on GOV.UK
17 December 2025 · Salary thresholds
Advisers urge lower occupation salary rates
The Migration Advisory Committee published its review of salary requirements covering the Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Global Business Mobility and Scale-up routes. It recommends pulling occupation going rates back to the 25th percentile of earnings, arguing that the median-based rates introduced in April 2024 shut out junior roles and employers outside London. It advises holding the general threshold at 41,700 pounds, or raising it to 48,400 pounds if cutting net migration is the priority.
Who it affects: Sponsoring employers and Skilled Worker applicants outside London
Official source on GOV.UK
This page summarises material published on GOV.UK and parliament.uk. It is general information, not immigration advice on your own case. PRIMEVISA LTD is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, registration F201600043.
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