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 a licence from the Home Office under the International Sportsperson route. The single International Sportsperson route 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

The Skilled Worker route enables UK employers, with an appropriate sponsor licence, to recruit or continue to employ skilled non-British or Irish nationals. It is the most popular route of entry and stay for work purposes. The Practice Note: Sponsoring a Skilled Worker looks at eligibility aspects which relate to the issue of a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) by the sponsor (including skill level and salary). Once issued a CoS, assuming they are otherwise eligible, the applicant can then apply for entry clearance or permission to stay. This Practice Note examines the following aspects of the application which relate to the applicant: • English-language, financial, and criminal record requirements • suitability requirements • validity requirements • period and conditions of permission • dependants, and • applications for settlement after five years Key resources at a glance Resource type Links Immigration Rules Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker Immigration Rules, Appendix English Language Immigration Rules, Appendix Finance Immigration Rules, Appendix Continuous Residence Immigration Rules, Appendix KOL UK Home Office guidance Workers and Temporary

NOTE: The Start-up route closed to all new applications on 13 April 2023 (except where they are supported by endorsements issued before this date). As such, individuals applying under this route must have a valid Home Office endorsement issued on or before 12 April 2023. Any application under the route must be made within three months from the date of endorsement. As such, the last date that an application under the route can be made is 12 July 2023. The Innovator Founder route is now the main route for individuals who wish to set up a business in the UK. For further information, see Practice Note: Applying under the Innovator Founder route. Background The Start-up route was introduced into the Immigration Rules (the rules) on 29 March 2019. Together with the Innovator route, it replaced the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) categories. Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) applications were still accepted until 6 July 2019, so there was a brief period of overlap between the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur)

UK Ancestry provides a route of entry and stay in the UK for Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent who intend to work in the UK. The route is often considered attractive as: • it does not require sponsorship by a UK-based employer, which can be a costly and burdensome process • there is no English-language requirement for entry to the UK • it allows the main applicant to bring their dependent partner and children to the UK, and • it ultimately leads to settlement in the UK after five years Although the Immigration Rules for the route were simplified from 1 December 2020 for the post-Brexit immigration system via Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 813, few substantive policy changes were made. The route, which previously sat in Part 5 of the Rules, still has no points allocations and is therefore not a ‘points-based’ route. This Practice Note looks at the following: • eligibility requirements • validity requirements • financial requirements • suitability requirements • period and conditions of permission • dependants, and