Friday 20 February 2026

2025 marked the most consequential year for the immigration law sector since Brexit. Indeed, the scale of changes in 2025 and those likely to unfold in 2026 could prove more seismic than Brexit itself in terms of the impact on the immigration landscape.

This article outlines key changes to UK immigration law and policy throughout 2025 and looks ahead to those that could be on the horizon in 2026.

2025: A year in review

End of BRPs and full shift to eVisas

At long last, BRPs and BRCs ceased production on 31 October 2024 and expired on 31 December 2024 to be replaced by eVisas – digital records of immigration permission accessed via an online portal.  Throughout 2025, different immigration routes were added to the list of ‘digital-only’ categories as part of a phased approach. By the end of February 2026, most immigration categories are due to have been fully digitalised, including for those applying from outside and from within the UK. The shift towards eVisas and digital-by-default status has not been without challenges, with many migrants and legal representatives reporting technical problems in setting up or accessing their eVisas.

Important changes made to Home Office sponsor guidance
In January 2025, the Home Office updated sponsor guidance with consequential changes for employer sponsors. Sponsors are now subject to expanded prohibitions on passing sponsorship costs to workers. In addition to the Immigration Skills Charge, sponsors must not recoup Certificate of Sponsorship assignment fees, Skilled Worker sponsor licence application fees or related administrative or premium service costs, including legal fees incurred for assistance with such matters; breaches risk sponsor licence revocation. The restriction applies to recoupment attempted on or after 31 December 2024.

Further restrictions were applied to investments made by sponsored workers in their sponsoring employers. Additionally, key personnel requirements were tightened, with at least one primary Level 1 User now required to be both an employee, director or partner and a settled worker. The Home Office has also restricted sponsorship in a personal capacity, preventing sponsorship by individuals or households not conducting business in the UK and roles engaged for personal benefit unrelated to the organisation’s activities.

Home Office begins to issue automatic pre-settled to settled status upgrades
On 31 January 2025, the Home Office began automatically upgrading eligible EU Settlement Scheme beneficiaries from pre-settled to settled status, provided they met the residence criteria. This removed the need for individuals to submit an extension application and reduced administrative burden.

Important updates to good character guidance could bar many refugees from British citizenship
Amendments were made to the Home Office’s good character guidance for British citizenship applications with effect from 10 February 2025. The guidance was updated to state that applicants who had previously entered the UK illegally from that date onward would normally be refused citizenship, regardless of how much time had passed since the illegal entry. Applications made before 10 February 2025, where illegal entry was a factor, continued to be assessed under the previous approach, allowing decision-makers to consider whether the breach should be disregarded. A judicial review is currently pending against these policy changes.

Final rollout of Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme to European nationals
From 2 April 2025, nationals of EU Member States, the EEA and Switzerland became subject to the ETA requirement for travel to the UK. This marked the final stage of the ETA scheme’s rollout, extending its scope to European nationals, after the 8 January 2025 rollout to non-European non-visa nationalities including the USA, Canada and Australia. Nevertheless, full implementation of the ETA scheme will not take place until 25 February 2026. Until then, individuals can travel with an ETA application pending – a full valid ETA is not required until this date.

Changes in thresholds for sponsor company size classification
On 6 April 2025, the Companies Act 2006 criteria used to define small companies changed, affecting the sponsor licence application fees and Immigration Skills Charge payable by sponsors under the Worker routes. The increase to the turnover and balance sheet thresholds meant that some companies previously classed as medium-sized were reclassified as small companies, enabling them to benefit from lower sponsor licence and ISC fees.

A company is considered small if any two of the following three criteria are met:

	Previous threshold	New threshold from 6 April 2025
Turnover not more than:	£10.2 million	£15 million
Balance sheet total (ie total assets) not more than:	£5.1 million	£7.5 million
Monthly average number of employees, not more than:	50	50 (unchanged)

In the context of increased application and ISC fees, this change is an important distinction that may allow some sponsors to pay lower costs.

Government’s Immigration White Paper sets out extensive changes to UK immigration routes
Published in May, the Government’s Immigration White Paper, Restoring control over the immigration system, outlined vast changes across legal migration, asylum, enforcement and settlement areas.

In relation to work routes, the Government proposed raising the skill level for the Skilled Worker route back to RQF 6, effectively reversing post-Brexit expansion to lower-skilled roles. Sponsorship for lower-skilled occupations was to be restricted, time-limited and potentially capped, subject to labour market evidence, and employer commitments to domestic recruitment and training. The Immigration Skills Charge was set to increase by 32%, the social care route was set to close to new overseas applicants and employers were expected to invest more heavily in domestic skills or risk losing access to sponsorship. These proposals are now underway, and some have been implemented as detailed below; others are subject to further development and consultation.

For graduates, the post-study work period under the Graduate route was to be reduced from 2 years to 18 months, while the High Potential Individual (HPI) route was proposed to expand, increasing the number of eligible overseas institutions. Although the Graduate route avoided the full closure feared, the proposals created an imbalance, allowing some overseas graduates to benefit from longer post-study work permission (under the HPI route) than UK graduates (under the Graduate route).

By contrast, the White Paper sought to increase migration under highly skilled and entrepreneurial routes. Proposals included expanding high-talent routes, simplifying access to the Global Talent route, reviewing the Innovator Founder route to improve uptake and doubling numbers under the Expansion Worker route.

The white paper also proposed higher English language requirements across most routes, including increasing Skilled Worker and settlement requirements from B1 to B2 and introducing new language thresholds for adult dependants, with progression required over time. In addition, the standard qualifying period for settlement was to increase from five to ten years, with limited scope for shorter routes based on economic or societal contribution.

Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 836
From 16 July 2025, the rules for the continuous residence requirement under the EU Settlement Scheme changed for pre-settled status holders applying for settled status as a result of this further Statement of Changes. Under the new rules, applicants could qualify if they had been resident in the UK for at least 30 months within the most recent 60-month period, replacing the previous requirement that absences could not exceed six months in any 12-month period.

This change allowed pre-settled status holders who had not been continuously resident in the UK since the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 to remain eligible for settled status, provided they met the 30-month residence threshold. Individuals previously refused settled status can submit a new application or have their case automatically reconsidered under the updated criteria.

Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 997
On 22 July 2025, the UK implemented significant changes to sponsored work routes under the Statement of Changes HC 997, implementing aspects of the Immigration White Paper detailed above. The Skilled Worker route reverted to requiring jobs at RQF level 6 or above, reversing the 2020 reduction to level 3. Around 180 lower-skilled occupations were removed from eligibility unless applicants were already in the route, had pending applications, or their roles appeared on the Immigration Salary List or a new interim Temporary Shortage List. Salary thresholds were updated using 2024 ASHE data, raising the general Skilled Worker salary threshold from £37,800 to £41,700, with corresponding increases for reduced thresholds and specific occupations. These changes also affected Global Business Mobility and Scale-up migrants. Transitional arrangements allowed current workers or pending applicants to remain eligible for lower-skilled roles, though salary updates applied immediately.

The Immigration Salary List began to be phased out, replaced by a Temporary Shortage List controlling access for RQF levels 3 to 5. Interim arrangements permit these lower-skilled occupations to continue under either list until the end of 2026, except for adult social care roles, which have separate arrangements. Workers in these roles generally cannot bring dependants unless they are already on the route, with exceptions for children born in the UK or for sole parental responsibility. The MAC will review the Temporary Shortage List in Spring 2026 to retain only occupations supported by workforce strategies and employer commitments to domestic recruitment.

Significant reforms were introduced for adult social care roles, including closing the route to new entry clearance applications while allowing in-country switching until 22 July 2028 for workers employed by their sponsor for at least three months. The previous requirement to recruit first from existing Skilled Workers was removed, and transitional protections were put in place for those already in the route. A clarification restricted the occupation code for nursing auxiliaries and assistants to contexts where registered nurse roles existed.

Major changes to adult social care roles were also implemented including closing the route to new applicants, with in-country switching allowed until 22 July 2028 for those employed by their sponsor for at least three months. Protections for current workers were put in place to adult social care workers already in the UK.

Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 1333
The Home Office published this next Statement of Changes on 30 October 2025, introducing a wide-ranging package of changes to work-based, visitor, student, economic migration and family routes alongside technical and simplification amendments. The changes aligned with the Government’s May 2025 Immigration White Paper, with implementation staggered across multiple dates from October 2025 to January 2027. The Immigration Skills Charge was also confirmed to increase by 32% from 16 December 2025.

The English language requirement for the Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up routes increased from B1 to B2, effective 8 January 2026, with transitional arrangements allowing existing migrants to continue under B1 when extending their permission. The Graduate route was reduced to 18 months for non-PhD graduates from 1 January 2027, while PhD graduates retained 3 years of leave, with the change implemented on 11 November 2025 to allow universities to prepare.

Part Suitability was introduced, consolidating refusal and cancellation grounds across most immigration categories, including grounds based on criminality, deception, public good and security. These changes took effect from 11 November 2025.

Student route amendments effective from 25 November 2025 now permit graduates to establish and work for their own business while switching to the Innovator Founder route. The High Potential Individual route expanded to double the list of eligible institutions, capped at 8,000 applications per year, with implementation from 4 November 2025. The Global Talent route added 27 prestigious prizes and removed one, effective 11 November 2025.

Overall, HC 1333 represented a significant phase of the Government’s ongoing immigration reform programme, implementing a number of proposals from the Immigration White Paper.

Government outlines significant proposed changes to asylum and returns policy
On 17 November 2025, the Government published Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, signalling a significant shift toward temporary protection for asylum seekers and refugees, enhanced enforcement and an extended route to settlement for such individuals. The statement proposed reforms such as ending permanent protection for refugees, escalating the removal of families, including children, whose asylum claims have been refused and removing the legal requirement to support destitute asylum seekers.

Government announces earned settlement proposals and opens long-awaited consultation
On 20 November 2025, the Home Office published its proposals for an ‘earned settlement’ model and launched a public consultation on the proposed changes to the pathway to settlement, also known as indefinite leave to remain (ILR). The consultation document, titled A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, set out a framework in which settlement would no longer be granted automatically after a fixed period, signalling some of the most consequential changes to the UK immigration system for many years. Instead of qualifying for settlement after (normally) 5 years’ residence and meeting certain route-specific criteria, under the proposals individuals will now need to demonstrate sustained commitment through work, community involvement or other contributions before qualifying for permanent status. The baseline qualifying period has been proposed as 10 years for most applicants, with longer periods of 15 years for Skilled Workers in medium-skilled roles and 20 years for refugees, subject to some exceptions. Reductions or extensions to these baselines would depend on positive and negative indicators such as earnings, public service, volunteering, irregular entry or reliance on public funds. Various aspects of the proposals, including whether transitional arrangements for those already on a settlement pathway would be introduced, were subject to a public consultation.

The earned settlement model would make settlement conditional on four pillars: character, integration, contribution and residence. Mandatory requirements included meeting suitability thresholds (including criminality checks and immigration compliance), achieving a minimum English language level of B2 and passing the Life in the UK Test, demonstrating taxable earnings of at least £12,570 per year for three to five years and maintaining continuous lawful UK residence. Positive indicators, such as higher English proficiency, higher earnings, public service work or community involvement, could reduce the qualifying period from 10 years to as little as 3 years in exceptional cases. Conversely, negative indicators such as receipt of public funds, irregular entry, overstaying or entering on a visit visa could extend the qualifying period to up to 30 years.

Certain ‘protected’ groups, including partners of British citizens and holders of Hong Kong BN(O) status, would retain the current five-year qualifying period for settlement, though they would still be subject to all mandatory requirements, including English language and earnings thresholds. Additional proposals included a 15-year settlement period for sponsored workers in roles below RQF Level 6, removal of the 10-year long residence route, uncertainty over whether time spent in different routes could be combined toward qualifying periods and potential new No Recourse to Public Funds conditions at settlement. Adult dependants would be required to qualify independently, potentially delaying children’s eligibility for ILR and affecting access to home-fee university places.

The Home Office consultation closed on  12 February 2026. Following the consultation (to which Laura Devine Immigration submitted a detailed response) the changes are expected to begin to be phased in from April 2026 – although with such a brief period for the Home Office to review responses to the consultation, it would appear likely that only minor changes will start to be implemented from this date. The proposals have raised concerns about extended qualifying periods, the treatment of dependants, and the complexity of applying the new framework.

Immigration Skills Charge increases by 32%
2025 concluded with a substantial 32% increase to the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC), raising the cost for employers sponsoring Skilled Workers. The ISC increased as follows:

• for large sponsors: to £1,320 from £1,000 per sponsored worker per year (an increase of £320); and
• for small or charitable sponsors: to £480 from £364 per sponsored worker per year (an increase of £116).

This increase intensified the financial burden on employers using foreign labour, particularly in sectors facing skills shortages, and underscored the Government’s approach to offset immigration system costs through employer charges.

What’s in store for 2026?

2026 is likely to continue the trend of significant shifts in UK immigration law, with several projects and consultations which commenced in recent years scheduled to be delivered this year. We set out below some of the key developments on the horizon.

Final digitalisation rollouts

The Home Office’s digitalisation agenda is reaching its final rollout phase early in 2026. From 25 February 2026, most of those applying for UK immigration permission from outside the UK will not receive a physical vignette in their passport but will instead only receive an eVisa – digital immigration status. Such applicants join the other cohorts for whom UK immigration permission has already been entirely digitalised. This shift places a greater onus on individuals and employers to ensure that applicants’ UKVI accounts – where their eVisa records are stored – are accurate and up to date, to avoid issues with travelling.

End of ETA grace period
While the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme was fully launched in April 2025, its enforcement has been limited due to the grace period, with carriers not strictly checking authorisations. On 25 February 2026, this grace period is expected to end, meaning that all travellers from ETA-eligible countries – including EU, EEA and other visa nationals who require an ETA – will be strictly required to obtain authorisation before boarding flights or other transport to the UK. Failure to comply will likely result in denied boarding. Businesses, international students and frequent travellers will need to plan to ensure full compliance, as travel disruptions could become widespread during the initial months of enforcement.

Additionally, full enforcement of the ETA scheme will require dual British citizens to enter the UK with a British passport. The UK government strongly advises dual British citizens to make sure they have a valid British passport or certificate of entitlement, to avoid problems like being denied boarding when travelling to the UK from 25 February 2026.

Implementation of earned settlement plans
The Home Office has stated that it intends to begin phasing in its earned settlement model from April 2026. As the consultation period closed on 12 February 2026, there will be minimal time for governmental and parliamentary scrutiny of consultation responses before implementation is set to commence.

Whilst we are unsure of the scope of implementation currently, the rollout of this scheme is likely to generate complex legal and compliance questions, especially for those switching routes or with dependants. Undoubtedly, legal challenges against the government will arise.

Increased focus on sponsor compliance

Another likely development in UK immigration law during 2026 is the continuing increased scrutiny of sponsor compliance. As the Home Office continues to digitalise its systems, sponsors may face more frequent audits and automated checks on their records. This could result in stricter enforcement of reporting duties and greater penalties for non-compliance, urging employers to invest in robust HR processes to manage sponsorship obligations effectively.

Reform of shortage skilled occupations permitted under the Skilled Worker route

The Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) consultation on the Temporary Shortage List (TSL) closed on 2 February 2026 and the MAC’s findings and conclusions are expected over the coming months. The consultation sought detailed evidence from government and sector bodies on whether shortlisted mid‑skill occupations (RQF 3–5) should receive time‑limited access to overseas recruitment and sponsorship, conditional on credible ‘jobs plans’ to develop domestic skills and recruitment and manage exploitation risks.

The MAC is expected to publish recommendations by mid‑2026, with implementation likely in July 2026, recalibrating which roles attract salary concessions or remain eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.

The outcome of the consultation will shape UK immigration policy in 2026 by tightening the link between migration access and industrial strategy, increasing scrutiny of employer training commitments, and reinforcing a more conditional, evidence‑led approach to labour market shortages.

Youth Mobility Scheme expansion to EU

There has been growing speculation that the UK could open a youth mobility scheme (YMS) to EU/EEA nationals as part of a limited reset in UK–EU relations, and indications from negotiations earlier in 2025 have been positive. While politically sensitive, there is a moderate likelihood that such a scheme could be introduced in 2026, subject to further negotiations. Any such scheme would likely mirror existing YMS routes, permitting a two‑year period of permission, with no dependants nor access to public funds permitted, and likely subject to an annual cap. Such a scheme would likely result in the boosting of labour supply in sectors such as hospitality, retail and entry‑level professional roles, and would improve cultural exchange.

Political shifts in Scottish, Welsh and local elections
Elections across Scotland, Wales and local authorities in May 2026 may influence the government’s approach to immigration policy. The rise of parties such as Reform UK may push for tighter immigration controls and could affect the pace and scope of key 2026 initiatives, including earned settlement implementation.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the UK immigration landscape stands at a pivotal moment, shaped by far-reaching reforms and evolving political pressures. The cumulative effect of recent and upcoming changes signals a shift towards an even more conditional immigration system.

As 2026 unfolds, the interplay of stricter enforcement, rising costs for employers and the influence of emerging political forces such as Reform UK will test the adaptability of migrants, sponsors and practitioners alike. Navigating this environment will demand careful planning, strategic foresight and an ability to respond to rapid shifts, underscoring that UK immigration is now as much about long-term strategy as it is about individual eligibility.

Get in touch
If you require assistance, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or our Enquiries team at enquiries@lauradevine.com, and we will be pleased to discuss how we can help. You can also subscribe to our mailing list to receive the latest updates to UK immigration law.