In all cases, entry clearance applications should now be made online. In many routes, the online form is available through the visa tool on GOV.UK for the route. There is also an online platform which includes forms for certain routes for family members, including of persons exempt from UK immigration control, and also Armed Forces and other miscellaneous routes. In a very limited number of routes, there are still Appendix forms that need to be completed. The majority of paper forms that are still available for completion are citizenship forms. Citizenship applications by post are mandatory for applicants in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man (and in some cases a British Overseas Territory) but can also be made by applicants elsewhere if they do not wish to apply online. This page contains an alphabetical list of the remaining hard copy application forms for use in applications made outside the UK, including, in some cases, links to fully editable and saveable Lexis®Smart versions. Using Lexis®Smart versions of hard copy Home Office forms and

The Home Office has updated its caseworker guidance on Discretionary Leave to Remain. The changes in the new version include provision for recognised victims of trafficking to be granted leave if they have an ongoing asylum claim linked with their trafficking. This implements the Court of Appeal's findings in EOG & KTT v SSHD [2022] EWCA Civ 307.

The Home Office has issued guidance announcing the discontinuation of inadmissibility action for asylum claims from individuals who arrived in the UK from 1 January 2022 and received Rwanda removal notices before 29 June 2023. The guidance, published 8 April 2025, commits to substantively considering these asylum claims on their merits. The Home Office estimates cases from this group will receive substantive asylum decisions by the end of 2025.

The Home Office has announced significant expansion of UK entry exclusion criteria targeting individuals with connections to the Russian state. The new measures, effective from February 2025, establish three primary grounds for exclusion providing significant support to the Russian state, deriving substantial wealth or status from the Russian state, or maintaining access to senior Russian state levels. This development augments existing sanctions and builds upon the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership agreement signed in January 2025. The measures complement ongoing enforcement actions, including Operation Destabilise, which has resulted in 84 arrests and the seizure of £21m in illicit funds. The framework forms part of the UK's broader strategy of support for Ukraine, backed by a £12.8bn total assistance package and a commitment to £3bn annual military support.

The Home Office has brought into force three new codes of practice under the Investigatory Powers Act, covering third party bulk personal datasets, bulk personal datasets with low privacy expectations and the notices regime. Additionally, all existing codes of practice have been updated following their presentation to Parliament on 31 March 2025. The codes, approved by both Houses of Parliament, establish processes and safeguards for public authorities' use of investigatory powers.

The Home Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have imposed sanctions on Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) in full, along with eight cyber-military intelligence officers, following the publication of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry’s final report. The inquiry found that GRU operatives carried out the 2018 Novichok attack targeting Sergei and Yulia Skripal, that the operation was personally authorised by President Vladimir Putin, and that the incident led to the death of Dawn Sturgess and endangered members of the public. The government has also summoned the Russian Ambassador in response to the inquiry’s findings.

The Home Office has reported a significant increase in enforcement actions against illegal working, with arrests rising by 25% and visits up by 34% since July 2024. Operation Tornado, targeting nail bars and convenience stores, resulted in 154 arrests and potential civil penalties of up to £4m. The government has redirected resources from the now-closed Rwanda deportation scheme to focus on returning individuals with no right to remain in the UK, contributing to nearly 10,000 returns since the general election. Additionally, the Home Secretary has signed a joint statement with Iraq to combat people smuggling, and the government has committed £150m over two years to tackle organised immigration crime. These measures form part of a broader strategy to reduce net migration, enhance border security, and reform the asylum system.

The Home Office has reported on its progress in tackling illegal immigration and working, with nearly 13,500 individuals removed from the UK since the new government took office. Illegal working operations and arrests have increased by almost a third compared to the same period last year, with six employers charged under the criminal offence of knowingly employing illegal workers in the past five months. The government is investing £8 million in new technology, including body worn cameras and fingerprint kits, to enhance enforcement capabilities. Enforced returns are up 25%, and over 2,100 foreign criminals have been removed since July 2024. The Home Secretary has also signed a new agreement with Germany to combat people smuggling, signalling a strengthened approach to immigration enforcement and border security.

The Home Office has announced a series of measures, collectively known as 'Ronan's Law', to address the online sale of knives and combat knife crime. Key provisions include requiring online retailers to report suspicious knife purchases to police, increasing the maximum sentence for selling weapons to under-18s from six months to two years, and introducing a new offence of possessing an offensive weapon with intent for violence, carrying a sentence of up to four years. The government will consult on a registration scheme for online knife retailers and implement a mandatory two-step age verification process for online knife sales. Additionally, tech executives may face fines of up to £10,000 for failing to remove illegal knife crime content from their platforms. These measures aim to halve knife crime over the next decade and form part of a broader strategy that includes banning certain types of knives and implementing preventative programmes for at-risk youth.

The Home Office has introduced changes to the Student Sponsor Guidance documents as of 7 April 2026. These changes primarily focus on added requirements for agents and third parties in the recruitment of sponsored Students. Details of these changes are set out below.

The Home Office, in collaboration with the Australian and Canadian governments, has published an optional international reporting template to support organisations in meeting supply chain transparency requirements under modern slavery legislation in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. This initiative aims to reduce the administrative burden for multinational organisations by enabling the preparation of a single consolidated report that satisfies the core legal obligations across all three jurisdictions.

The Home Office has published a new Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules: CP 1373. The statement introduces a new Appendix UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme. Although the scheme is currently only underpinned by a treaty with France announced as a pilot, the phrasing of the Appendix implies there may be at least a tenuous plan to add other EU countries in the future. The process of returning asylum seekers to France, while permitting relocation requests from other asylum seekers in France who wish to have their claim processed in the UK has some similarities to the controversial Dublin regulations, but the criteria are distinct, for example requiring asylum seekers in France to upload an identity document and lodge a one-chance expression of interest to be transferred. The Explanatory Memorandum states the purpose is to enable transfers of eligible migrants from France to the UK, matching numbers with those removed from the UK. The changes create a time-limited application window for non-EEA nationals in France to receive a three-month UK entry permission and they could then claim asylum on arrival. The rules take effect immediately upon treaty ratification, which was on 4 August 2025, bypassing the standard 21-day notice period, which is said to be due to operational security requirements.