Leave to enter and remain

Other than British or Irish citizens (or Commonwealth citizens with the right of abode) a person wishing to travel to the UK generally requires leave, ie permission, to enter and remain in the UK.

Depending on their nationality, some non-British or non-Irish citizens require entry clearance in all cases before travelling to the UK and, generally, all non-British or Irish citizens coming to the UK for more than six months require entry clearance. This is issued either as a stamp in the passport or in digital form as an eVisa. For further information, see Practice Note: Permission to travel to the UK. The UK is introducing another form of prior permission to travel which broadly applies to those non-British or Irish citizens who do not require an entry clearance. See Practice Note: The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme.

Leave to enter

For those who do not require entry clearance, leave can be granted by means of a stamp added to the passenger’s passport by an Immigration Officer, orally by an Immigration Officer, or automatically, when going through an eGate (which is generally only possible

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Statement of changes in Immigration Rules, HC 997—analysis

Immigration analysis: the Lexis+® UK Immigration team outlines the main changes set out in HC 997, published on 1 July 2025. The Statement primarily implements the first tranche of significant changes that had been announced in the 12 May 2025 Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’, notably raising the standard skill level for Skilled Worker to Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) level 6 and closing off entry clearance applications from careworkers and senior careworkers, with a sunset for permitted in-country switches to 22 July 2028. The skill level change has been somewhat tempered by the retention (and slight expansion) of the Immigration Salary List until 31 December 2026 and the creation of a new interim Temporary Shortage List, which will be subject to review and will also be removed by that date. This will enable persons in certain RQF 3–5 occupations to still commence sponsorship as new applicants for a limited period, although they will not be able to bring dependants. However, even with these measures, there will be 111 roles which can no longer be sponsored. There has also been a raft of changes to salary levels in Skilled Worker and various other work routes, which are primarily increases, and are in line with the latest (2024) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data, published by the Office for National Statistics. In another change, which was not anticipated, the government has shut down for new applicants with immediate effect the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

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