Recent changes to UK immigration rules

05 November 2025 | posted in Commercial law Corporate and business law Dispute resolution Employee share schemes Employment law Family law Immigration law Media and entertainment law Music law Private client law Property law

The Home Office produced a new Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, which was published on 14 October 2025.

Here, we look at the important changes and what action should be taken by various groups:

Key changes

• The English language requirement for routes including the Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scaleup will be increased from level B1 to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and will take effect on 8 January 2026.
• There will be a reduction in the maximum period of stay granted to successful applicants under the Graduate route (for nonPhD graduates) from two years to 18 months, for applications made on or after 1 January 2027.
• There will be an expansion of the High Potential Individual route in terms of increasing the list of eligible institutions and capping applications at 8,000 a year.
• Separately, from 16 December 2025, there will be a 32% increase in the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) to £1,320 per person per year.

Action to be taken by key stakeholders

Sponsors/employers

• Organisations need to know the higher language requirements for new staff joining from abroad or who are making an initial application to switch into the Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual or Scale-up routes and be aware of the current exemptions. They also need to know the shorter period granted under the Graduate route which may apply to junior recruits. Recruitment strategies may need to be adjusted.
• Sponsors need to factor into their budgets the increase to the Immigration Skills Charge and consider whether they are able to create and assign Certificates of Sponsorship to new or current sponsored workers before 16 December 2025 to avoid paying the increased charge.

Non-PhD graduates

• Depending on when a course is completed, applicants may want to submit their applications under this route before 1 January 2027 to try and obtain permission for two years, otherwise applications on or after this date will only be granted 18 months.

High Potential Individual applicants

• Individuals hoping to apply under this route should check the lists once updated to see if their institution has been added but should also ascertain whether the cap for the year has been reached before submitting their application.

Educational institutions

• Because of the planned reduction of the length of permission under the graduate route, institutions may want to revisit how they market specific courses to international students and/or information provided on post-study options.

Nationals of Botswana and Palestine

• Nationals of these countries who are now classified as visa nationals following these changes, will need to apply for and obtain a visa to visit the UK. Travel plans should be made accordingly in light of these changes.

Ensure you remain compliant and well-prepared by speaking to our immigration law team about the recent Home Office changes.