On 5 March 2026, the Home Office published a new Statement of Changes to the UK Immigration Rules.
Key themes include raising English language requirements for settlement, as expected from the White Paper but with a longer notice than anticipated; new nationality restrictions on entry clearance; and updates to the Ukraine scheme.
The expected changes to the length of UK residence required and minimum salary requirements before applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (“Earned Settlement”) have not been announced. We expect these changes later in the year.
This Statement of Changes is notable for what it does not announce rather than what it does.
In the Immigration White Paper 2025 and the Earned Settlement Consultation, the Home Office announced its intention to introduce the concept of “Earned Settlement”. The baseline residence period for settlement in the UK would be raised from 5 years to 10 years in most cases and a system of additions/deductions would be available depending on salary, level of English, community service etc.
The March 2026 Statement of Changes is silent on most of these changes except for the level of English language required which will be raised from B1 to B2 level from March 2027 (i.e. next year).
We expect more on Earned Settlement later in the year once the Home Office has had time to digest the hundreds of thousands of responses they received to their consultation which closed on 13 February 2026.
The key changes for now are as follows:
Visitors
Visa national list — Nicaragua and St. Lucia
Nicaragua and St. Lucia have been added to the visa national list with immediate effect, meaning their nationals will now require a visa to visit the United Kingdom. However, transitional provisions apply:
Skilled Workers
English language requirement
Note that this is a retrospective change, in that it applies to existing visa holders, but the Home Office is giving over 12 months’ notice to help people prepare.
Nationality restriction — Afghanistan
Salary payment requirements (Effective: 8 April 2026)
This change ensures that UKVI does not need to wait until a full year of salary has been paid where there are concerns about underpayment. Most employers will meet these requirements automatically, but it is worth checking with your payroll if you have any unusual payment terms.
Students
Nationality restriction (Effective: 26 March 2026)
Nationals or citizens of the following countries will no longer be eligible to apply for entry clearance as a Student:
Existing visa holders are not affected.
As with the Skilled Worker restrictions for Afghanistan nationals, this is an interesting development for the Home Office to disallow visa applications based on nationality alone. We will see whether the principle is taken further in the future for other nationalities.
Asylum seeker employment — Skilled Occupations threshold (Effective: 26 March 2026)
The rules governing when asylum seekers may take up employment have been updated to refer to jobs that are ‘included in Appendix Skilled Occupations and considered to be skilled to RQF level 6 or above on the Skilled Worker route’ at the time an offer of employment is accepted.
Global Talent route (Effective: 26 March 2026/8 April 2026/1 July 2026)
A series of changes are being introduced to the Global Talent route across multiple implementation dates, including updates to endorsement requirements, suitability criteria, and the list of qualifying prizes. The general effect is to make the route more attractive to migrants who qualify by simplifying and fast-tracking applications made with the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society.
Ukraine scheme (Effective: 8 April 2026)
The Ukrainian Visa scheme has been extended to allow Ukrainian nationals to remain in the UK longer, and the length of time they have to file an extension has been increased to 90 days before their permission expires, from the current 28 days.
Please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact for further information, or alternatively:
Lyudmyla Davies
Partner (Solicitor)
Ian Robinson
Partner
Andrea Als
Director (Solicitor)
Tom Marsom
Director (Solicitor)
Kate Gamester
Manager (Solicitor)
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