Immigration Rules Changes: What You Need to Know

Key Changes in 2026

Each change below names the statement of changes it came from and the date it takes effect.

Already in force

• 8 January 2026 — B2 English for Skilled Worker. A new application on the Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual or Scale-up route needs B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening. GOV.UK keeps B1 for someone who held a Skilled Worker visa before that date and is extending or updating it. From HC 1333, laid 14 October 2025.
• 26 March 2026 — salary in each pay period. A sponsored worker’s salary must meet the threshold in every pay period. It can no longer be averaged across the year. From HC 1691.
• 26 March 2026 — the visa brake. Skilled Worker applications from Afghan nationals are refused, and Student applications from nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan are refused. From HC 1691.
• 2 March 2026 — refugee permission of 30 months. Permission granted on an asylum claim made on or after that date runs for 30 months. From HC 1691.
• 26 March 2026 — suspended sentences. A suspended sentence of 12 months or more is now a mandatory ground of refusal, and counts for electronic travel authorisation criminality checks as well. From HC 1691 and HC 259.
• 8 April 2026 — the fee table. The Home Office immigration and nationality fee table was reissued. HC 259, laid 9 July 2026, made no fee changes.
• 30 July 2026 — Graduate route dependants. A child born in the UK can be added as a dependant on the Graduate route. From HC 259.

Announced, with a future start date

• 1 January 2027 — a shorter Graduate visa. GOV.UK says the visa lasts “2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026” and “18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027”. A doctorate still gives 3 years. From HC 1333.
• 26 March 2027 — B2 English for settlement. The knowledge of English requirement in Appendix KoLL rises from B1 to B2 for settlement and citizenship applications made on or after that date. The explanatory memorandum to HC 1691 says it applies to people already on a route to settlement. See our B2 transitional rules guide.

Proposed, and not law

• Earned settlement. The consultation on changing the qualifying period for settlement, including moving the starting point from 5 years to 10, ran from 20 November 2025 to 11:59pm on 12 February 2026. GOV.UK says: “We are analysing your feedback.” No rule has been laid. See our white paper impact guide.

What has not changed

• The family income threshold is £29,000, and has been since 11 April 2024. The £38,700 figure that was announced in 2023 was never made law.
• The English levels on the family route are unchanged: A1 at the first application, A2 in speaking and listening at the extension.
• The Skilled Worker general salary threshold is £41,700, set on 22 July 2025, with a lower threshold of £33,400 for some groups. See our salary threshold guide.

For the official list of all changes, see the GOV.UK Statements of Changes.

Impact on Skilled Worker Visas

The change with the longest reach is not from 2026 at all. On 22 July 2025 the skill level for a new Skilled Worker applicant rose to degree level (RQF 6), and the general salary threshold rose to £41,700 or the going rate, whichever is higher. Roles below degree level are sponsorable only where the occupation code is on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, and someone sponsored in a Temporary Shortage List role cannot bring dependants.

Being on the Immigration Salary List lowers the salary threshold to £33,400 and reduces the application fee. It does not reduce the going rate for the occupation, which still applies in full.

The 2026 changes for this route are the B2 English requirement from 8 January and the per-pay-period salary rule from 26 March.

See our Skilled Worker ILR guide for the latest requirements.

Impact on Family Visas

No statement of changes in 2026 has altered the family income threshold. It is £29,000 for a first application made on or after 11 April 2024. The transitional tier of £18,600, with £3,800 for a first child and £2,400 for each further child, applies only to someone extending who first applied before 11 April 2024.

The one 2026 change that reaches the family route is the B2 English requirement for settlement from 26 March 2027. Settlement on the basis of family life is among the routes the explanatory memorandum to HC 1691 names.

For the current requirements, see our spouse visa ILR guide.

Impact on Settlement and Citizenship

The one settlement change already made is the English level, rising to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027. Everything else being discussed — a longer qualifying period, a points-based scheme — is at the consultation stage. Related pages:

• Long residence route qualifying periods
• ILR processing times
• Life in the UK test requirements
• Citizenship requirements

Transitional Arrangements Are Not Automatic

It is often said that people who started under the old rules are protected. That is not a general principle, and assuming it is has caused real trouble. Each statement of changes says what it does, and some say the opposite.

• An example that does protect. GOV.UK says of the Skilled Worker English requirement: “If you had this visa before 8 January 2026 and you’re applying to extend or update it, you need level B1 English.” That is a genuine carve-out, and it is limited to extending or updating the same visa.
• An example that does not. The explanatory memorandum to HC 1691 says the new B2 requirement for settlement “will therefore apply to those already on a pathway to settlement in the UK”. The extra year before it starts is what people already on a route were given, rather than an exemption.
• The default. An application is decided under the rules in force on the day it is made. That protects an application already submitted. It does not fix the rules for an application you have not made yet.

How to Stay Informed

Three sources carry the rules themselves rather than reports of them:

• The statement of changes collection. Each entry has an explanatory memorandum that says what changed and from when.
• The updates page for the Immigration Rules, which lists what was amended and on what date.
• UK Visas and Immigration, for the announcements and the caseworker guidance published alongside a change.

Only a person regulated to give immigration advice can apply a rule change to someone’s own circumstances. Our guide on doing it yourself or using a solicitor explains how to check that someone is regulated.

Questions and answers