The Home Office has published an updated guidance on mutual legal assistance. The guidance provides information for UK authorities, and those abroad on obtaining evidence within the UK, or abroad, to help in criminal investigations or proceedings.

Previously nationality caseworker guidance set out the British citizenship ban in the Illegal Migration Act 2024, where people who had ever met specific criteria linked with illegal entry could never obtain British citizenship. However the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (Amendment) Regulations 2024 have meant this provision is no longer in force and the naturalisation caseworker guidance has been changed to reflect this. It is unclear whether any naturalisation/registration applications were ever refused because of the ban, but if so people affected would need individualised advice on next steps.

The Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration have updated the statutory right to rent codes of practice and the landlord’s guide to right to rent checks, with the revised materials applying from 1 October 2026. The main code for landlords and agents replaces the January 2024 version and applies in England to relevant breaches from that date and to initial or repeat checks required on or after then to establish or retain a statutory excuse. The updates clarify when prescribed checks must be carried out, require registered digital verification service providers (DVSPs) where a DVSP is used, expand the role of DVSPs and update acceptable document lists to include digital versions that can be verified by landlords. The revised landlord’s guide also reflects increased use of eVisas and changes to immigration documentation. Separate discrimination guidance strengthens equal-treatment requirements, including where individuals have a time-limited right to rent or cannot use digital services.

The Home Office has published an updated version of its statutory guidance on transparency in supply chains under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The guidance document, 'Transparency in supply chains: a practical guide,' provides organisations with updated instructions on developing annual modern slavery statements, including requirements for publication, writing approach and approval processes. This represents the first complete replacement of the guidance document since its original publication in October 2015, superseding previous partial updates.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) reports on the Home Office update to its Student Sponsor Compliance guidance, which introduces revised Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) metrics and a new red–amber–green (RAG) rating system for student sponsors across the UK. These changes follow the Immigration White Paper of 12 May 2026, which confirmed that BCA thresholds would be revised. The changes reduce the visa refusal rate threshold to 5% and increase course enrolment and completion thresholds to 95% and 90%, respectively.

The Home Office has updated the victim information requests: draft code of practice, following its initial publication on 1 December 2025. The update confirms that the code has come into force and now provides statutory guidance for authorised persons under Chapter 3A of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, as amended by the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024. It establishes the code’s legal effect and clarifies its status as current guidance.

The Home Office has announced plans for the largest overhaul of policing in England and Wales since its professionalisation two centuries ago, with the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, publishing a white paper proposing force mergers and the creation of a new National Police Service to tackle serious and complex crime. The government said that the reforms are intended to reduce fragmentation, improve efficiency and accountability, and ensure local policing focuses on neighbourhood crime while national capabilities address threats that cross force boundaries.

The Home Office has answered a parliamentary written question tabled on 29 May 2026 by James McMurdock, Independent MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock. The question asked the Home Office to provide data on the number and proportion of migrants who had successfully secured indefinite leave to remain after using unregulated immigration advisers over each of the last five years. The question followed an Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) press release urging the public to verify that their immigration advisers are properly regulated. In the written answer, Minister of State at the Home Office, Alex Norris, confirmed that no such data exists. Norris stated that ‘the provision of unregulated immigration advice is a covert activity’ and that the requested figures ‘could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost.’ The Home Office also acknowledged that not all those who receive unregulated advice report it to the Home Office or to regulators.

The Home Office has published new guidance on electronic travel authorisation (ETA) applications for caseworkers. Once they come into force, ETAs will provide permission to travel to the UK and will be required by specified non-visa nationals who intend to visit or transit through the UK, and certain Creative Workers. The guidance is designed to assist decision makers where an ETA applicant’s identity cannot be properly established or where there is adverse information regarding the applicant’s suitability for an ETA. This is because caseworkers will need to consider any application that is to be refused or rejected, as those elements cannot be automated. Most applicants' decisions will be fully automated and will receive a grant within three days of submitting their application.

The Home Office has updated its statutory guidance under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 (LA 2003). The guidance has been updated to include paragraph 1.19 which directs local authorities to consider local plans or strategies when making licensing decisions.

The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has announced new measures to increase immigration enforcement and returns as part of the government’s plans to ‘boost Britain’s border security’, with the aim of achieving the highest rate of removals since 2018. Measures include a surge in returns flights, including removal by charter flight, increased detention spaces to support the higher pace of removals, redeployment of staff to progress failed asylum and returns cases, and a range of sanctions (including financial penalty notices, business closure orders and potential prosecution) against employers hiring illegal workers, making adequate right to work checks particularly important.

The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has announced the 2025 Calais Group Priority Plan, for the Home Office in collaboration with European partners, aimed at dismantling people smuggling networks and bolstering border security. The plan, agreed upon by the UK, Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, focuses on enhanced cooperation through Europol, targeting organised crime groups' use of social media, addressing illicit finance models, and improving information exchange on migration flows. Concurrently, the UK government is establishing a Border Security Command to lead efforts in tackling organised immigration crime and strengthening the UK's border security approach. This development signifies a coordinated international agreement targeting organised immigration crime in line with the government’s manifesto commitment.