White Paper and post-Brexit immigration

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This sub-topic looks at the trajectory of structural changes to UK immigration policy from the end of the Brexit transition period. It covers the citizens’ rights settlement agreed with the EU and its domestic implementation, the initial post-Brexit immigration system which applied to both EEA and non-EEA citizens which was put into place by the previous Conservative government, and the immigration White Paper ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’ published by the Labour government on 12 May 2025 which sets out significant changes it intends to introduce over the course of this Parliament.

Citizens’ rights

On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its European Union (EU) membership. A 51.9% majority voted in favour of the UK leaving the EU (‘Brexit’). On 29 March 2017, the UK government gave formal notification of the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). As of exit day (11 pm on 31 January 2020), the UK is no longer an EU Member State.

European Economic Area (EEA)/Swiss citizens (termed ‘EEA citizens’ for these purposes) and their family members

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Latest Immigration News

Home Office announces new Act to prevent automatic reinstatement of citizenship during appeals

The Home Office has announced the passing of the Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The Act prevents British citizenship from being automatically reinstated following a successful initial appeal, where further legal proceedings are possible.

Home Affairs Committee reports on Home Office mismanagement of asylum accommodation

The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has published its Fourth Report of Session 2024–26, examining how the Home Office has responded operationally to an increase in demand for asylum accommodation since 2019. The Committee reviewed the department’s use of private sector contracts, reliance on hotels and the adequacy of accommodation standards, as well as the impact on local communities and public services. It found that the projected cost of asylum accommodation contracts for 2019–29 has more than tripled, from £4.5bn to £15.3bn, while the number of people accommodated rose from 47,500 in 2018 to 103,000 by June 2025.

Home Office overhauls Windrush compensation scheme with advance payments

The Home Office has announced a major overhaul of the Windrush Compensation Scheme (WCS), introducing advance payments of up to 75% of final awards for claimants requesting reviews of their compensation decisions. The changes extend compensation for the first time to lost pension contributions from both occupational and personal pensions and establish priority processing for applicants aged 75 and over and those with serious health conditions. The scheme will now reimburse immigration fees paid by individuals who were unable to prove their lawful status and will account for wage inflation and recognise the difficulties of returning to work after a long period of unemployment in compensation calculations. All measures will be applied retrospectively and are intended to address concerns about excessive bureaucracy delaying compensation payments. The WCS, launched in April 2019, has paid £116m across 3,501 claims as of August 2025, with over 93% of claims receiving final decisions.

Vignettes may no longer be issued for more routes from 30 October 2025

The Home Office has provided an update on its ongoing move to a fully digital system of immigration status by confirming that from 30 October 2025 successful applicants for entry clearance in ‘certain work, study and family visa routes’, or for settlement on any route, may not be issued with an entry clearance vignette in their passport, and instead will need to create a UKVI account and get access to it before they travel to the UK. At this stage there are no further details as to exactly which types of applicant this will apply to. From 15 July 2025 it has applied to main applicants (only) in the Student (including short-term up to 11 months), Global Business Mobility, Global Talent, International Sportsperson, Skilled Worker (including Health and Care), Temporary Workers, and Youth Mobility Scheme routes.

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