The Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) route provides individuals with the opportunity to come to the UK on a temporary basis on Home Office-approved exchange schemes, which fall into four types of programme: • work experience—this also includes volunteering, job shadowing and internships • training—in the fields of science and/or medicine, or training delivered by HM Armed Forces or UK emergency services • research and fellowships—for those on a scientific, academic, medical, or government research project at a UK Higher Education Provider or another research institution operating under the approval of a relevant government department, or • taking part in an overseas government language programme Where the scheme is a work experience programme, the maximum period of stay in the route is 12 months. For other types of scheme, it is 24 months. The GAE route is a Temporary Worker route. Prior to 1 December 2020, under the pre-Brexit Points-Based System, the route was called Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange). From 1 December 2020 to 11 October 2021, it was

The Graduate route is an unsponsored immigration route which permits eligible persons with permission in the Student route to undertake full-time employment or self-employment in the UK, at any skill level, upon completion of their studies for: • two years if they have completed an eligible Bachelor's or Master's degree (or other relevant qualification) in the UK and apply before 1 January 2027 • 18 months if they have completed an eligible Bachelor's or Master's degree (or other relevant qualification) in the UK and apply on or after 1 January 2027, or • three years if they have completed a PhD or other eligible doctoral qualification The route was introduced from 1 July 2021, in order to attract and retain talented international students. It is in some ways similar to the Tier 1 (Post-study work) category, which was abolished in April 2012. In its Immigration White Paper issued in May 2025, the government announced that it would be reducing the duration of stay to 18 months for Bachelor's or Master's students,

High Potential Individual is a straightforward and unsponsored immigration route which permits applicants with an eligible degree qualification (minimum bachelors' level) awarded within the last five years from a specified non-UK ‘top global university’ to undertake full-time employment or self-employment in the UK, at any skill level, for: • three years if they have been awarded a PhD or other eligible doctoral-level qualification • two years, for all other eligible degree qualifications The High Potential Individual route shares certain similarities with the Graduate route (which has been in force from 1 July 2021). This is because both routes: • provide eligible graduates a route of stay which enables employment or self-employment in the UK for up to three years—note that from 1 January 2027 non-PhD applicants in the Graduate route will only be granted 18 months permission, while such persons in this route will continue to be granted two years • do not require a UK-based sponsor • have provision for dependent family members (although the provision for dependants is more restricted in the

The Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (the scheme) allows Ukrainian nationals, and certain of their family members, who are resident outside the UK to apply to enter the UK, provided they are supported by an approved UK-based sponsor who offers them accommodation. The scheme is set out in the Immigration Rules, Appendix Ukraine Scheme. The scheme is the only Ukraine route currently open to new applicants from abroad. The Ukraine Family Scheme closed to new applications at 3 pm on 19 February 2024. The Ukraine Extension Scheme closed on 16 May 2024 and is now closed entirely. Persons already in the UK who hold permission under a Ukraine route may be eligible to renew that permission under the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPES). For more information see: Applying under the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme. Grants of permission under the scheme do not currently provide a pathway to settlement. The scheme launched in 2022 after the Ukraine Family Scheme (which has since closed). Initially, details of a ‘humanitarian sponsorship pathway’ were announced by

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT: In relation to the ‘Earned Settlement’ proposals, the Home Secretary confirmed in November 2025 that BN(O) status holders would continue to benefit from a five-year pathway to settlement, compared with a new standard baseline of ten years' residence for most other migrants. However, they would still need to meet the mandatory contribution requirements. At the time of writing, the Earned Settlement proposals remain under consultation. The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa route was introduced by the UK government in response to changes in Hong Kong national security laws which were implemented by the Chinese authorities during 2020. For further information on the background and the implementation of the route, see News Analysis: The UK’s decision to extend residence rights for British Nationals (Overseas) citizens in Hong Kong. The route was opened for all applicants on 31 January 2021. However, individuals from 1 July 2020 could apply for leave (ie permission) outside the Immigration Rules at the border upon arrival in the UK and subsequently

The Innovator Founder route was introduced from 13 April 2023. It replaced the Innovator and Start-up routes, which came into force in March 2019 for applicants wishing to set up a business in the UK (these had replaced respectively the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) routes). Start-up was a two-year route aimed at those setting up a business for the first time, and did not require any minimum investment funds, while the Innovator route had a minimum funds requirement of £50,000 but led to settlement. Both routes required endorsement by a Home Office-approved third party endorsing body (which in the case of Start-up was often a higher education institution). The 2019 changes were brought in broadly to address the 2015 Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) categories. The Explanatory Memorandum to the relevant Statement of Changes commented on the findings of the Migration Advisory Committee’s review, stating that the Entrepreneur category was in need of ‘substantial reform’ and ‘contributed little or nothing to

The International Sportsperson route is for elite sports players and coaches who intend to work in the UK. The route was introduced from 11 October 2021 by Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 617, and replaced T2 Sportsperson, and the sporting element of T5 (Temporary Worker) Creative or Sporting Worker. It is a sponsored work route, which means that the applicant must be sponsored by an organisation that holds an A-rated licence from the Home Office under the International Sportsperson route. The single International Sportsperson route now incorporates short-term and long-term options. Entry clearance and permission to stay applications can only be made once the applicant has obtained endorsement from the relevant sports governing body and been assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) by their sponsor. However, the issues associated with making an application for permission should be considered from the outset by both the sponsor and the applicant. For information on the sponsorship process, see Practice Note: Sponsoring an International Sportsperson. This

Stop press: Planned changes to settlement routes were announced in the May 2025 Immigration White Paper, which proposed changing the eligibility requirements for all routes which lead to settlement to an ‘Earned Settlement’ model, which could see the length of required continuous residence increase for some applicants, including people who are already in the UK on a route to settlement, and would likely herald the end of this 10–year long residence route. See Practice Note:Immigration White Paper 2025—summary, tracker and resources and Precedent: Earned settlement—client guide. The Long Residence route within the Immigration Rules is for those applying for further permission to stay or settlement (also referred to as indefinite leave to remain (ILR)) on the basis of having spent ten years continuously and lawfully in the UK. This Practice Note includes a summary of the route, plus links to the relevant Immigration Rules, Home Office guidance, forms, fees and other application information. The route was initially established (as a concession outside the Immigration Rules) to ensure that the UK met its obligations under

The Private Life Route was initially introduced in Part 7 of the Immigration Rules on 9 July 2012, and represents the government’s interpretation of the protection that the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 8 (Article 8 ECHR) should offer to persons in relation to private life claims made within the Rules. Prior to 9 July 2012, persons could apply for settlement on the basis of 14 years spent continuously in the UK, whether lawfully or not (known as the ‘14 years rule’). From 20 June 2022, the route has been set out in simplified format in the Immigration Rules, Appendix Private Life. This includes provision for: • adults who have been continuously resident in the UK for 20 years (eg where some or all of that time was unlawful) • adults who have not been continuously resident in the UK for 20 years, but who would face very significant obstacles to reintegration into the country where they would have to live if required to leave the UK • children who have lived in the UK for

Previously, Representative of an Overseas Business provided a route of entry and stay in the UK for employees of overseas businesses in one of two ways, as: • a senior employee of an overseas business (which does not have a presence in the UK) who is being assigned to the UK in order to establish the company’s first branch or subsidiary (‘sole representative’), or • media employees of overseas newspapers, news agencies or broadcasting organisations who are being posted by their overseas employer on a long-term UK posting (‘media representatives’) Following Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 1118, the ‘sole representative’ provisions closed to new entrants from 11 April 2022. The sole representative provisions under Representative of an Overseas Business remain only for those wishing to extend their stay or apply for settlement under this route. The Global Business Mobility—UK Expansion Worker route was introduced from the same date to cater for those who would previously have entered the UK as sole representatives. For further details, see Practice

The Scale-up route permits UK businesses which have experienced recent high growth to obtain a Home Office sponsor licence to recruit highly skilled non-British or Irish citizens who ‘have the skills needed to enable the Scale-up business to continue growing’. It is nominally a points-based route, and was introduced in the Immigration Rules, Appendix Scale-up on 22 August 2022. A key distinguishing feature of the Scale-up route is that it is initially a sponsored route (for six months) but transitions to an unsponsored route. The sponsor will only remain responsible for each sponsored employee for six months, in terms of its migrant sponsor duties and responsibilities, but will need to remain otherwise compliant for the duration of the licence. As such, there are two sets of criteria that can apply, sponsored or unsponsored, depending on the type of application. All applicants are also required to meet the English-language, financial, suitability and validity requirements as set out below. A new scheme will allow some UK scale-up businesses to obtain reimbursement of visa fees incurred from 9 June

Senior or Specialist Worker and Graduate Trainee are Global Business Mobility routes which replaced, respectively, the Intra-Company Transfer and Intra-Company Graduate Trainee routes from 11 April 2022. The Senior or Specialist Worker route enables businesses with linked entities overseas to transfer established employees to work in their UK offices in a skilled role. It is classed as a Worker route, for the purposes of relevant sponsorship fees. Partners in business structures such as limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are treated as employees for these purposes. The route is set out in the Immigration Rules, Appendix Global Business Mobility—Senior or Specialist Worker. References to Senior or Specialist Worker include those with permission under the predecessor Intra-company and Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer)/Long-term staff routes. The Graduate Trainee route is for graduate recruits who are being transferred to undertake a role in the UK which is part of a structured graduate training programme, with clearly defined progression towards a managerial or specialist role within the organisation. It is classed as a Temporary