UK immigration rules change on 8 October 2026: what is new

Changes to the UK Immigration Rules took effect on 8 October 2026. They come from Statement of Changes HC 584, published by the Home Office on 3 September. The revised Home Office fee table carries the same date. The headline for anyone living in the UK on a visa: nothing costs more, but several procedural rules are tighter, and getting the order of your applications wrong can now cost you your lawful status.

Did UK visa fees go up on 8 October 2026?

No. In the Home Office fee table that applies from 8 October 2026, the fee change column shows £0 for every line: the amounts match the previous ones. A Skilled Worker visa for three years or less costs £819 from outside the UK and £943 from inside, and £1,618 and £1,865 for more than three years. The Health and Care Worker visa is £324 and £628. A student visa is £558 and a short visitor visa of up to six months is £135. Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK is £3,226, and naturalisation is £1,709 plus a £130 citizenship ceremony fee. A Certificate of Sponsorship on work routes is £525, priority processing is £500 and super priority is £1,000.

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What changed on the visitor route?

The visitor rules were widened. Any visitor may now take part in workshops, debates and skills competitions. Visitors coming for training no longer have to show that the training is unavailable in their home country, a requirement that has been removed. Artists, entertainers and musicians are expressly allowed to attend rehearsals as well as performances, and a new definition of entertainment staff covers support staff employed by the performer who assist with those permitted activities. Erasmus+ is written into the rules as a separate block: a new visitor category for Erasmus+ activities is created and participants may study at state-funded schools for up to six months. The UK rejoins the programme itself from 1 January 2027.

Why does the new fee waiver rule matter?

This is the sharpest change. Paragraph 34G(4) has been substituted: a later application now takes the date of an earlier fee waiver request only if that later application is the human rights application the waiver was requested for. The previous pattern was to make a human rights application with a fee waiver request and then vary it to another route, stretching out section 3C leave. With the earlier date no longer carried across on a change of route, 3C leave may not continue, and some applicants will have to apply for entry clearance from abroad instead of extending in the UK.

How long do you now have to enrol biometrics?

As long as the original application allowed, and no longer. New paragraph 34BB(2A) closes a second gap: when you vary an application that is already outstanding, the biometric deadline does not reset. The period set for the earlier application still applies, so there is a single enrolment window and it is easier to miss.

Who is affected by the frustrating immigration controls rule?

People applying from inside the UK. The suitability rules gain SUI 11.4(e), which treats conduct that frustrates immigration controls as a breach of immigration law. Failing to report as required under immigration bail, or absconding from bail or from custody, falls within it. The same ground already existed for entry clearance refusals, so in-country and out-of-country decisions are now aligned.

What changed for BN(O), the EU Settlement Scheme and domestic abuse victims?

On the Hong Kong BN(O) route, paragraph HK 62.1 has been rewritten: the applicant's most recent permission must be on the BN(O) route, and settlement requires five years of continuous permission on a route to settlement, with the five-year requirement not applying to applicants under 18. On the Skilled Worker route, new paragraph SW 18.3 covers victims of modern slavery: a worker with a positive conclusive grounds decision through the National Referral Mechanism may work with minimal restrictions, including self-employment and voluntary work, while the bar on professional sport and sports coaching stays and the public funds restriction is unchanged. Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit) are amended from 8 October and Appendix AR (EU) is deleted; a further EU Settlement Scheme change follows on 9 December 2026. Appendix VDA, covering victims of domestic abuse, also applies in its new form from 8 October.

Which applications are still decided under the old rules?

Those made before 8 October. For part of the package, including the visitor route, suitability, the fee waiver rule and biometrics, the statement sets out transitional provisions: applications for entry clearance, an Electronic Travel Authorisation, permission to enter or stay, claims and administrative reviews made before 8 October 2026 are decided under the Immigration Rules in force on 7 October 2026. The other blocks carry no such saving and apply straight away. Further groups of changes from the same document take effect on 29 October, 30 November and 9 December 2026.

The full text of the changes and the current fee table are published on GOV.UK. If your application is already in or you are planning to switch routes, check the date you applied: that date decides which version of the rules your case is judged under. ONLYWAY NEWS will follow the later stages of HC 584.