Immigration
Immigration Rules changes, sponsor licences, ILR and family routes. We give the rules and the sources, not individual advice.
UK settlement: which years will count, and which will not
The reform closes the Long Residence route. Years on a Student visa, on Graduate and on the Ukraine schemes will no longer build towards permanent status. Here are both lists.
Skilled Worker visa: what salary threshold applies now
The main condition of a Skilled Worker visa is pay. It must meet both a general threshold and the going rate for the job. Here are the figures for 2026.
EU Settlement Scheme: can you still apply after the deadline?
The main deadline for the EU Settlement Scheme passed in 2021, but late applications are still accepted with reasonable grounds. Here is how the scheme and its statuses work.
English at B2, no debts, clean record: the new settlement checks
The reform rewrites the checks as well as the timings: English rises to B2, government debt becomes a bar, and any UK criminal record means refusal.
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Already living in Britain: do the new settlement rules apply to me?
There is no general exemption for people already in the country. But targeted transitional arrangements apply to care workers, nursing auxiliaries, teaching assistants and the pre-April 2024 Skilled Worker cohort.
Settlement in Britain must now be earned: three years, five or ten
The Home Office set out a new settlement model on 2 November. The near-automatic five years is gone: the wait now depends on earnings, occupation and compliance, with ten years as the new default.
EU Settlement Scheme 2026: how to get settled status and what happens to pre-settled
The EU Settlement Scheme lets EU citizens and their families keep the right to live in Britain. Settled status comes after 5 years, and pre-settled status is now extended automatically. Applying is free.
eVisa in 2026: how to move from a BRP card to digital immigration status
Britain has moved to digital immigration status: the plastic BRP card is replaced by an eVisa, accessed through a UKVI account. Expired BRPs can be used in a limited way until 31 December 2026.
How to get a National Insurance number in Britain in 2026
A National Insurance number is needed by everyone who works in Britain. Getting one takes up to four weeks, and applying through the official GOV.UK service is free.
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Health and Care Worker visa: rules, £324 fee and timings
A cheaper visa route for doctors, nurses and care workers: who qualifies, what it costs, why there is no health surcharge and how it leads to settlement.
The English requirement for UK visas: levels and exemptions
Different stages — a first partner visa, an extension, settlement and citizenship — need different levels of English. Here are the CEFR levels, how to prove them, and who is exempt.
UK Standard Visitor Visa in 2026: Rules, Fees and Duration
What you can and cannot do on a UK Standard Visitor visa, how much it costs and how long it lasts, based on GOV.UK rules for 2026.
Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK in 2026
The routes to UK settlement, how many years you need and what the Life in the UK Test involves, based on GOV.UK rules for 2026.
UK Spouse and Partner Visa: What You Need to Know in 2026
Who can apply for a UK partner or spouse family visa, what income you must prove and how long the visa lasts, based on GOV.UK rules for 2026.
eVisa and the UKVI account: how to prove your immigration status online
Immigration status in the UK is now held online — this is the eVisa. To use it you need a UKVI account, through which you view your status and show it to employers and landlords with a share code.
UK Ancestry visa 2026: 5 years to live and work via a British grandparent
Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the UK can get an Ancestry visa — 5 years, with the right to work and a route to settlement. The fee is £726.
UK spouse/partner visa 2026: length, income and the route to settlement
To live in the UK with a British spouse you need a family (partner) visa. The first grant is 2 years 9 months, and after 5 years you can apply for settlement. Here are the relationship, income and English rules.
EU Settlement Scheme: settled vs pre-settled status in 2026
EU citizens and their families live in the UK under EUSS status. Here is the difference between settled and pre-settled, how to move to the permanent status after 5 years, and why pre-settled is now extended automatically.
Graduate visa 2026: how to stay in the UK after study — length, cost, conditions
The Graduate visa lets a graduate stay and work in the UK without a sponsor. Note: from 1 January 2027 the length for bachelor’s and master’s graduates is cut.
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The Global Talent visa: no employer, no sponsor — through endorsement
The key difference between the Global Talent visa and the Skilled Worker visa: it does NOT need an employer sponsor or a job offer. You need an endorsement from an approved body in your field — science and research, arts and culture, or digital technology — or a prestigious prize from the eligible list. Here is who qualifies, how it works and what it gives.
British citizenship: five years, 450 days and £1,839
Naturalising after ILR takes five years in the country, twelve months holding settlement and two separate absence ceilings — 450 days over five years and 90 days in the last twelve months. The £50 Life in the UK test, the English levels and what the fee buys.
Earned settlement: still no government response, and February 2027 is close
The consultation closed on 12 February 2026 and GOV.UK still says it is analysing the responses. The move from five years to ten is settled in principle; the transitional arrangements are not. Keeping five years for those already here is one option, not a decision.
Immigration Health Surcharge: £1,035 a year, £776 for students, 10 days to top up
Almost everyone applying for a UK visa pays the immigration health surcharge. Here are the rates, how part-years are calculated, who is exempt and when you get a refund.
UK immigration rules change on 8 October 2026: what is new
HC 584 is now in force: the visitor route is wider, while the fee waiver rule and the biometric deadline are tighter. Home Office fees dated the same day did not rise by a pound.
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The UK airport border: what to tell the officer, who can use the e-gates, and what you can bring in your suitcase
Part one of our guide to Britain's airports — everything that happens between the jet bridge and the Exit sign. Who needs a visa and who just needs a £20 ETA; who qualifies for the automatic e-gates and who must see an officer; what the border officer asks and how to answer; how many cigarettes, litres of wine and gifts you can bring duty-free — and why the £10,000 cash rule counts for the whole family, not per person.
UK visa waiting times in 2026: the official UKVI timelines and how to get a decision in a day
The official UKVI timelines: visitor, student and work visas from outside the UK take 3 weeks, family visas 12 weeks, and most in-country extensions 8 weeks. Pay an extra £500 and a decision is promised within 5 working days; £1,000 buys one by the end of the next working day. Here is when the clock starts, why timelines slip, and when the extra fee is a waste of money.
A sponsor licence for employers: £611 for small business, a £525 certificate and up to £1,320 a year in charges — how to hire from abroad
Only an employer with a sponsor licence can hire from abroad — including EU citizens who arrived after 2020. The GOV.UK rules: prices for small and large businesses, certificates of sponsorship, the Immigration Skills Charge, the 8-week timeline and the duties that get licences revoked.
Skilled Worker visa in 2026: the £41,700 threshold, who qualifies at £33,400, what it costs and how to bring family
The UK's main work visa in 2026: a salary threshold of £41,700 or your job's going rate, discounts down to £33,400 for the young and shortage occupations, English now at B2, fees from £819 plus £1,035 a year for the NHS. The GOV.UK rules on who qualifies, what it costs and which family members can come.
Moving to the UK in 2026: visas, real costs and what has changed
A guide built from primary sources: which visa you need to work, what the move actually costs, where to enrol biometrics from Russia and Belarus, and whether settlement really now takes ten years.
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An expired BRP stops working on 31 December 2026
The plastic BRP cards have expired and been replaced by eVisas. An old card is still accepted, but only for three things and no later than 31 December 2026. For entering the country it is already useless.
HC 584: what changes in the UK Immigration Rules from 8 October — a breakdown by date and route
The Home Office has laid another package of amendments before Parliament. It carries four commencement dates, a dozen affected routes, and one significant piece of news about what is not in it. Here is what changes, who it touches, and which amendments come with transitional protection — and which do not.
Settlement in the UK: what ILR really is, and why the qualifying period may double
UK law has no "residence permit" or "permanent residence" — it has time-limited leave, indefinite leave to remain (settlement) and citizenship. ILR usually comes after 5 years of work, with English at B1, a £50 Life in the UK test and a £3,226 fee; citizenship a year later, at £1,839. Two continuous years abroad and ILR lapses. And the qualifying period is set to rise from 5 years to 10, promised for autumn 2026 and stated to be retrospective.
UK visitor visa step by step 2026: timing, cost, biometrics and how long it takes
Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Armenian, Georgian and Moldovan nationals need a visa, not an ETA. You can apply no earlier than three months before travel; £135 for six months, and the fee is not refunded even on refusal. Your passport comes back the same day, a decision usually takes three weeks, and a refusal cannot be appealed.
Inviting family to Britain: there is no minimum balance, and UKVI will not look at your hotel or flight bookings
The British Embassy published cards on the finances behind a visitor visa; we checked every claim against the Immigration Rules and the Home Office caseworker guidance. There is no set level of funds in the requirements, there is no "6 months in 12" rule, and a visitor refusal carries neither appeal nor administrative review. Plus the full official list of fifteen documents a caseworker is told not to consider.