On 12th March, the Home Office published a statement of changes to immigration rules (HC 733), which includes updates to several visa categories. These changes come into effect on 9th April 2025. This resource breaks down the changes.
Changes to the Skilled Worker Route
These changes have been implemented to provide greater protection to care workers. An increasing number of individuals on the Health and Social Care Route are reporting exploitation and abuse on the visa route, as well as many individuals becoming displaced after their sponsors have their license revoked due to such abuse.
Care workers who have been displaced due to their sponsor losing its license will no longer have their visa curtailed and be issued with a ‘60 day letter’, instead being able to access various support from a Regional Hub for displaced workers.
Sponsors are now required to recruit from workers who are already in the UK at these Regional Hubs before seeking to recruit new sponsors from other immigration routes or overseas. These changes relate only to care jobs with working locations entirely in England.
Find out about the regional hubs here
Changes are also being made to update the minimum salary from £23,200 per year (or £11.90 per hour) to £25,000 per year (or £12.82 per hour).
EU Settlement Scheme Changes
To enable a non-EEA national applicant to the EUSS to use a UK-issued biometric residence card or permit which has expired by up to 18 months as proof of their identity and nationality and, where they use such a biometric residence card, not require them to re-enrol their fingerprint biometrics.
To confirm that a person with a pending administrative review of an EUSS decision, who has not left the UK or has been granted entry into the UK (except on immigration bail), will not be removed from the UK.
To confirm that a person who became an EU, other EEA or Swiss citizen after the end of the transition period cannot sponsor an EUSS family permit application.
To enable an EUSS or EUSS family permit application to be refused on suitability grounds, without a deportation or exclusion order being in place, where the applicant’s conduct before the end of the transition period meets the relevant EU law public policy test applicable under the Citizens’ Rights Agreements.
To confirm that, under the EU law public policy test applicable under the Citizens’ Rights Agreements to suitability decisions based on the applicant’s conduct before the end of the transition period, the threshold of ‘serious grounds’ of public policy or public security is to be met where they have (or are eligible for) indefinite leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU and not under other parts of the Immigration Rules.
ETAs
Nationals from Trinidad and Tobago will now be required to obtain a visitor visa to visit the UK. Individuals will also need a Direct Airside Transit Visa if transiting through the UK, unless exempt. There is a 6 week transition period in place for this (until 23 April 2025) so that individuals with travel plans already in place and an existing ETA to travel to the UK without a visa.
British Nationals Overseas (BNOs) will no longer be required to obtain an ETA before travel to the UK.
Other Key Changes
Changes to Appendix Ukraine Permission Extension and Homes for Ukraine Schemes
Appendix Short-Term Study (English Language) – inclusion of a genuine intention to study requirement.
Updates to the Global Talent and Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes routes
Annual update of the Permit Free Festival (PFF) list for 2025
Update to the annual quotas of Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) partner countries for 2025
Changes to Appendix Child Student relating to Child Student safeguarding
Changes to Administrative review to remove “error correction grants” and amend Administrative review validity rules.
Changes regarding PhD students following supervisors to another institution
Details of these changes can be found in the Explanatory Memorandum
Supplementary Resources
Breakdown of the changes in the Right to Remain Toolkit
Tulia’s Blog regarding the changes for care workers
If you have any queries or are affected by the changes and need support, please contact us at info@migrant.action.org.uk
