News update – 6 March 2026
This week had further changes to UK immigration law, which will continue to shape immigration regime and policies. For many people currently living and working in the UK, these changes could have a very real and immediate impact on their futures. At the same time, the Home Office released its latest family migration statistics for the year ending 2025, and the numbers tell their own findings about the state of the family visa system.
The most concerning developments remains the Government’s plan to change the rules for skilled workers seeking to settle permanently in the UK. In the current circumstances, many skilled workers can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years. However, the Government is now considering doubling that qualifying period to ten years and applying this change to people who are already partway through their journey. Skilled Migrants Alliance has already warned of legal challenges if the plan goes ahead.
Family Migration statistics published this week give useful context here. Data from the Home Office’s Migrant Journey report shows that people who come to the UK on family visas are far more likely to settle permanently, than those on work or study routes. Around 61% of family route migrants held indefinite leave to remain after five years, and 82% after ten years. For work route migrants, that figure drops to just 21% after ten years, and for study route migrants, just 7%. Any move to extend qualifying periods will therefore hit family migrants particularly hard.
Taking the broader perspective of the family visas, the overall number of family visas granted fell by 22% in the year ending December 2025, down to 66,610. Much of this decline is linked to the rise in the Minimum Income Requirement for Partner visas, which went up from £18,600 to £29,000 in April 2024. The effect has been significant, with Partner visa grants to Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals both falling by 39%, and grants to Indian nationals dropping by 32%. Pakistani nationals still received the highest number of family visas overall, accounting for 14% of all grants.
Although fewer visas were granted, the number of people extending their family leave inside the UK went up by 16%, reaching 72,435 in the same period. Nearly majority of these extensions related to Partner visa holders who were first granted leave in late 2021 and are now reaching the point where they need to extend. Pakistani, Indian, and Nigerian nationals made up just under a third of all Partner extensions, highlighting the communities most directly affected by the current system
On the asylum front, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced that refugee status will no longer automatically lead to long-term protection. Instead, it will be granted on a temporary basis and reviewed every 30 months. If a person’s home country is considered safe at the point of review, they will be expected to return. The Government has pointed to Denmark, where a similar approach led to a 90% reduction in asylum applications over ten years, as the model for this change. Under the former system, refugees could expect five years’ protection and then a relatively straightforward path to settlement. Under the new system, settlement will require a 20-year wait, unless the individual is able to switch onto a work or study route.
The latest family statistics show just how much the Refugee Family Reunion route had been growing before these changes. Since late 2023, more people had been granted refugee status and had therefore become eligible to bring their partners and children to the UK. A total of 18,869 Refugee Family Reunion visas were granted in the year to December 2025, with Afghan, Iranian, and Syrian nationals making up 40% of all grants under this route. However, when the Government announced a sudden pause on new applications in September 2025, grants fell sharply in the final months of the year. With temporary refugee status now becoming the norm, it is reasonable to expect these numbers to fall further still.
The Government also announced an emergency suspension of visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan. Study visas for all four countries and work visas for Afghan nationals have been stopped with immediate effect. The Home Office has said that 39% of the 100,000 people who claimed asylum in 2025 had originally come to the UK through lawful migration routes, and that these four nationalities accounted for the sharpest rise in such cases between 2021 and September 2025.
Immigration regulations are changing rapidly, so advisers must stay up to date. Many candidates will take the IAA Level 1 exam soon, aiming to enter the profession as immigration advisors to contributing their strong guidance during these challenging times. However, stricter exam standards from IAA have impacted the passing rates of Level 1 candidates in the recent times. This is mainly due to poor preparation, weak writing, unstructured answers, and time management issues, despite the advantage of it being an open-book assessment. HJT Training is delivering a timely live two-hour webinar, IAA Level 1 Exam Technique, on Tuesday 24 March 2026, led by Julian Bild, this focused session is designed to equip delegates with the practical tips, strategies, and exam techniques needed to approach the assessment with real confidence.
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For the full list of updates on media news, reports and Home Office Guidance and Policy updates, see HERE
Immigration News
UK puts emergency brake on study visas for four countries’ nationals – The Guardian
The Government has imposed an emergency brake on visas for the first time on nationals from four countries, as Shabana Mahmood accused them of exploiting Britain’s generosity to claim asylum. Study visas for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan have been halted, in addition to work visas for Afghans. To view the full article, visit here
‘Treat us fairly’: skilled workers face having their dream of settling in UK snatched away – The Guardian
Many on a skilled worker visa some of them only months from reaching settlement, face having it snatched away from them, under Government plans to retroactively double the baseline period qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain to 10 years. To view the full article, visit here
Refugee protection to be reviewed every 30 months – UKVI News
Refugee status will become temporary and subject to review every 30 months for all adults claiming asylum from today, the Home Secretary has announced. Protection will be renewed for all those refugees who still face danger in their home country. Those whose country has now become safe, and therefore no longer require protection, will be expected to return home. To view the full article, visit here
Mahmood’s move to make asylum temporary ‘may undermine refugee convention’ – The Guardian
Shabana Mahmood’s decision to tell every person applying for asylum that their status is temporary could undermine the refugee convention, the Law Society has said. The body representing solicitors in England and Wales said the Home Secretary’s move to review every refugee’s status after 30 months was “in tension” with the UK’s legal obligations. To view the full article, visit here
Deaths of 22 children in Channel due to ‘catastrophic failure’ by UK and France – The Guardian
The death of 22 children while trying to cross the Channel in the last two years, along with the mistreatment of thousands of others, were due to “catastrophic failures” of the UK and French Governments, according to a new report. Project Play, an NGO that has worked with 2,192 children hoping to cross the Channel from northern France to the UK to claim asylum in the last two years, has documented the impact of the hostile conditions in northern France due to regular teargassing, evictions and dinghy-slashing by the French police. To view the full article, visit here
Legal challenge over plan to use East Sussex army camp as asylum housing dismissed – The Guardian
A residents’ group has lost its high court challenge against a Home Office decision to use an army training camp to house asylum seekers. Crowborough Shield, a group of concerned residents, launched a legal challenge after securing more than £100,000 for legal fees with crowdfunding, after a Government announcement about using Crowborough army training camp as accommodation for asylum seekers. To view the full article, visit here
Number of migrants in hotels falls to 18-month low – The Times
The number of migrants being housed in hotels has fallen to its lowest for 18 months but is still higher than when Labour entered office. Immigration experts said that asylum applications remained “unusually high” and contrasted with the EU, which saw a 20 per cent decline in asylum claims. To view the full article, visit here
‘Chaos’ expected as new visa compliance rules now due in June – Times Higher Education
New compliance metrics for UK universities enrolling foreign students are set to be implemented from June, stoking fears about the potential scale of breaches amid rocketing visa refusal rates. To view the full article, visit here
Government to begin deporting foreign offenders with suspended sentences of 12 months or longer
From 22 March 2026, suspended sentences of 12 months or more will count towards the definition of a “foreign criminal” for automatic deportation purposes, following the commencement of section 45 of the Sentencing Act 2026, which removes the previous exemption for suspended sentences under the UK Borders Act 2007. This has been confirmed in a letter to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee made public yesterday, the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris MP. To view the official letter, visit here
Case Law
Barot v SSHD [2026] EWCA Civ 218
The Court of Appeal dismissed an international student’s challenge to the refusal of his leave to remain following his conviction for arranging sexual activity with a child, for which he received a 17-month suspended sentence. His judicial review application was filed out of time, no adequate reason was offered for the delay, and the Court, applying Hysaj, found the underlying claim insufficiently strong to justify an extension. Permission to appeal was refused. To view the full decision, visit here
CHK v SSHD [2026] EWCA Civ 207
The Court of Appeal dismissed a Brazilian national’s habeas corpus appeal, finding that his immigration bail conditions including fortnightly reporting and a residence requirement fell far short of the deprivation of liberty required to engage the writ. As CHK had been free to come and go as he pleased since 2018, the application was dismissed as an abuse of an important constitutional remedy. To view the full decision, visit here
RKC1 & Ors, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs & Anor [2026] EWHC 440 (Admin)
Six Gaza-based children of a UK refugee father sought family reunion. The Court ruled that the FCDO and Home Office acted unlawfully by not considering the family’s individual circumstances and withholding decision information. Later, the Home Secretary’s refusal to give Jordan travel assurances for security and biometric reasons was deemed lawful, with the Court deferring to ministerial judgment on border security. To view the full decision, visit here
Bokqiu v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 191
The Court of Appeal rejected the appellant (Mr Bokqiu’s) appeal, ruling that immigration status obtained through deception is not “lawful residence” under section 117C of the NIAA 2002. Since his leave was secured by fraud falsely claiming to be an underage Kosovan, he could not use Exception 1 to prevent deportation. The Court concluded that a status acquired by criminal means cannot be considered lawful. To view the full decision, visit here
Independent Reports
Why do people come to the UK? Family, Accredited official statistics UKVI
The Home Office’s report for the year ending December 2025 shows a 22% drop in UK family visa grants to 66,610, mainly due to stricter income requirements and paused Refugee Family Reunion applications. Pakistani nationals were the largest recipients. Meanwhile, family-related extensions increased by 16% as more Partner visa holders became eligible to extend. To view the full report, visit here
Home Office Guidance and Documents Policy Update
Form: Information for your immigration bail reporting appointment has been updated on 04th March 2026. To view the updated Form, visit here
Guidance: Code of conduct for interpreters: caseworker has been updated on 04th March 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 04th March 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 04th March 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Honduras: country policy and information notes has been updated on 03rd March 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Form: Settle in the UK as a Grenfell Tower survivor: form SET(GT) has been updated on 03rd March 2026. To view the updated form, visit here
Collection: UKVI support videos has been update don 02nd March 2026. To view the updated Collection, visit here
Promotional material: Top tips on how to scan a passport biometric chip: video has been published on 02nd March 2026. To view the promotional material, visit here
Guidance: Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) has been updated on 02nd March 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Form: Register child under 18 as British citizen (form MN1) has been updated on 02nd March 2026. To view the updated Form, visit here
Form: Become a British citizen by naturalisation (form AN) has been updated on 02nd March 2026. To view the updated form, visit here
Guidance: Belarus: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 01st March 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Criminal investigation: caseworker has been updated on 27th February 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Previous breach of UK immigration laws: caseworker has been updated on 27th February 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Digital device extraction policy: caseworker has been updated on 27th February 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Innovator Founder: caseworker has been updated on 27th February 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here