Immigration News

The basic qualifying period for ILR will increase to 10 years. The new earned settlement scheme will introduce the basic qualifying criteria with minimum income requirement applicable to most applicants, including those on private life route, ancestry route and long residence.

From 16 December 2025, the Immigration Skills Charge for medium and large sponsors will rise from £1000 to £1320 and for small and charitable sponsors from £364 to £480 per sponsored employee per year of sponsorship.

From 8 January 2026, applicants for the Skilled Worker, Scale-Up and High Potential Individual visas will be required to show knowledge of English to B2 standard in all for components (reading, writing, speaking and listening). This raises the plank from the current B1 to a higher standard. Graduates from the UK Universities will continue to

Applicants for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme can now meet continuous residence requirements if they have been in the UK for at least 30 months in the last 5 years before applying. The new rule came into force on 16 July 2025. The relaxed rule on absences from the UK is a major

The 1 July 2025 Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules announces the first changes to the Skilled Worker route since the publication of the White Paper on reform of UK immigration in May this year. There are no changes for workers who are already on the sponsored work route except that their next visa

In the White Paper published this morning, the Government has announced a Plan for Change, introducing some major immigration reforms. It is the intention of the government to start introducing changes in the coming weeks. More dramatic changes, such as earned path to settlement and citizenship, are to be evolved before the end of the

New rules on recovery of loans from sponsored workers and restrictions on recruitment of care workers from outside the UK

Applications for British citizenship made after 10 February 2025 will normally be refused for persons who previously entered the UK illegally. The length of time spent in the UK since illegal entry will not mitigate the offence. “Normally” stands for a very high threshold and many media outlets describe it as a ban on citizenship

The following changes to the Skilled Worker route are coming into effect on 4 April 2024: The general minimum salary threshold will increase from £26,200 to £38,700 For PhD related employment the general minimum threshold will be £34,830 or 90% of the new going rate For PhD holders in a STEM related subject the general

IHS is set to increase dramatically on 16 January 2024 and Skilled Workers are the worst affected category with the standard fee rising from £624 to £1035 per year, and from £470 to £776 for children, students and Youth Mobility applicants.