On 4 March 2021 the Home Office published Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules HC 1248 and the accompanying explanatory memorandum. The Statement of Changes amend Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit) in additional a number of other immigration routes. Some the changes will take place on 6 April 2021, the remainder will happen on 1 July 2021 once the Grace Period has concluded. This analysis, by Chris Benn and Charlotte Rubin of Seraphus, focuses on the changes that apply to EU citizens in the UK after Brexit and the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) specifically.

The Home Office has issued a new Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 217, along with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM) today. The statement runs to 75 pages and makes changes to various Parts and Appendices of the Rules. In particular it publishes dates for expanding the list of countries whose nationals will require Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in advance of travel to the UK, it amends the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) with a focus on the procedure for assessing continuing eligibility and it corrects errors in the previous statement of changes about a number of occupation codes and going salary rates. Other key changes are Jordan being added to the Visa National List from 15.00 today, a fee waiver being introduced for bereaved partners, and the introduction of a new diplomatic visitor route for diplomatic passport holders from certain countries. The majority of the changes come into force on 8 October 2024, with some changes coming into force immediately and others on 9 October, 10 October, 8 November 2024 and 2 January, 18 February and 11 March 2025.

On 9 July 2026 the Government laid Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 259 before Parliament, accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum (EM). The most significant changes widen the circumstances in which substantive asylum interviews may be omitted, align deportation and criminality provisions with the Sentencing Act 2026, make further targeted child and family reunion amendments following the Kone case, and extend the Part Suitability immigration bail exception relating to permitted overstaying across numerous immigration routes, alongside a range of route-specific and technical amendments. Full details are set out below.

The Home Office has issued a new Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 556, along with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM) today (19 February 2024). The Statement makes anticipated changes as regards the dependants of careworkers and senior careworkers in the Skilled Worker/Health and Care visa route, and also makes a number of surprise and immediate changes to the Ukraine Schemes, including ending the Ukraine Family Scheme from 3pm today.

The Home Office has issued a new Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 590, along with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM) today. The Statement runs to nearly 300 pages and makes numerous changes to various Parts and Appendices of the Rules. In particular it implements the main Skilled Worker changes and the initial minimum income requirement raise to family visa applications announced in Home Secretary’s five-point plan for Legal Migration in December 2024. Key changes mentioned in the EM are set out below. The majority of the changes come into force on 4 and 11 April 2024, with some changes coming in on 10 April, 16 May and 6 June.

This analysis covers the main changes to the Immigration Rules that are set out in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 244 (HC 244). The changes take effect from 1 July 2013 and will be applied to all applications decided on or after this date, unless otherwise stated. References to HC 1039 are to the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 1039 (HC 1039), which largely came into force on 6 April 2013. Many of the changes in HC 244 are being made to correct errors in HC 1039. English-language requirements Appendix O—List of approved English-language tests The Immigration Rules, Appendix O sets out a list of English-language tests approved for the purposes of meeting English-language requirements for limited leave to enter or remain under the Immigration Rules. Appendix O has been replaced in its entirety and the new version relates to English-language tests that are approved by the Home Office (such tests were previously approved by the UK Border Agency prior to its dissolution). The new version includes a

This analysis considers the main changes to the Immigration Rules (the rules) set out in CP 232. CP 232 was issued on 14 May 2020, along with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM). This includes in particular: • additional restrictions to the Representative of an Overseas Business category • various changes to the Start-up, Innovator and Global Talent routes in Appendix W of the Rules, and • amendments to the EU Settlement Scheme, including extending its scope to additional victims of domestic abuse, and to family members of persons born in Northern Ireland It is possible to navigate to specific topics quickly using the Contents bar on the left side of the screen. Implementation Unless otherwise stated, the changes take effect for applications made on or after 4 June 2020. Applications made (or supported by a Certificate of Sponsorship or endorsement assigned) before this date will be decided in line with the Rules in force as at 3 June 2020. Changes relating to applications by ‘family members of relevant persons of Northern Ireland’

This analysis covers the main changes to the Immigration Rules (the Rules) set out in HC 1025 that are likely to be of most interest to business immigration advisers. HC 1025 was issued on 26 February 2015, along with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM), and covers a wide range of changes. These include, but are by no means limited to: • a substantial restructuring of the Rules for visitors • the extension of the administrative review (AR) procedure in parallel with the second and third phases of implementation of the new Immigration Act 2014 appeals regime—so as to cover entry clearance (EC) and on-arrival eligible decisions • a significant revision of the requirements for maintaining investments in the Tier 1 (Investor) category in response to concerns raised by financial institutions and immigration lawyers about the previous changes set out in HC 693 which had come into force on 6 November 2014 This Practice Note also covers the restriction on Syrian citizens or nationals using the Transit Without Visa Scheme

This analysis covers the main changes to the Immigration Rules that are set out in HC 1039 that are likely to be of most interest to business immigration advisers. The changes take effect from 6 April 2013 and will only be applied to applications submitted on or after this date, unless otherwise stated. Visitors Intention not to live in the UK for extended periods There is an addition to the General visitor category, para 41(ii) to include a requirement for an applicant to not intend to live for extended periods in the UK through frequent or successive visits. Note that para 41(ii) applies to a range of other visitor categories, including child visitor, business visitor, sports visitor, entertainer visitor, parent of a child at school, visitor for marriage or to enter a civil partnership, visitor under the Approved Destination Status agreement and visitor undertaking permitted paid engagements. It does not affect the categories of visitor in transit, visitor for private medical treatment, student visitor or prospective entrepreneur. Guidance is awaited regarding how entry

This analysis covers the main changes to the Immigration Rules (the Rules) set out in HC 1078. HC 1078 was issued on 16 March 2017, along with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM). Many of the changes are to Tier 2, as the Statement of Changes implements the second tranche of changes to Tier 2 (General) and Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) (ICT) which were first announced in Parliament by the previous Minister of Immigration, James Brokenshire MP, on 24 March 2016. This speech followed the government's consideration of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)'s reports on its full review of Tier 2. For details of the implementation of the first tranche of changes in November 2016, see Practice Note: Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 667—analysis [Archived]. Most of the changes to Tier 2 were anticipated from the Ministerial Statement, or from other prior announcements in relevant policy guidance. In a related development, the Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2017, SI 2017/420 will come into force on 6 April 2017. This implements another

This analysis covers the main changes to the Immigration Rules (the Rules) set out in HC 1138 that are likely to be of most interest to business immigration advisers. HC 1201 This analysis incorporates subsequent amendments to HC 1138 that were set out in HC 1201. HC 1201 was issued on 1 April 2014, prior to the implementation of HC 1138, in order to correct minor errors in HC 1138, including typographical errors and several errors in the implementation dates. HC 1201 also contained two substantive corrections to HC 1138, as follows: • the deletion of an amendment to Appendix A, para 111(d)(i)(2) that would have restricted roles in the Tier 5 (Temporary Worker) Religious Worker subcategory from including preaching or pastoral work • the re-introduction of references to grants of leave for persons whose last leave was as a qualifying work permit holder to the relevant paragraph (245GE) relating to maximum leave grants for persons in the Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) category Implementation Unless otherwise stated, the changes take effect

This analysis considers the main changes to the Immigration Rules (the Rules) set out in HC 1154. HC 1154 was issued on 15 June 2018, along with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM). It covers the following changes of interest to business immigration advisers: • amendments to Tier 2 (General), including: ◦ exempting doctors and nurses from having to apply for a Tier 2 (General) restricted certificate of sponsorship (RCoS) ◦ prohibiting Tier 2 migrants from holding more than 10% of the shares in their sponsor indirectly ◦ adding references to the Find a Job service, which has replaced the Universal Jobmatch service for the purposes of satisfying the resident labour market test (RLMT) • changes to the Rules relating to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for main applicants and their dependants in work categories on how absences from the UK are to be treated, including: ◦ introducing a transitional arrangement for the new calculation of the absences rule set out in HC 309 (see Practice Note: Statement of Changes in Immigration