Immigration News Update – 9 October 2026
In this week’s news updates, HJT brings you important updates which took effect on 8th October 2026. Including major Immigration Rules changes, tighter right to work and student sponsor compliance, expanded visitor activities, rising Channel crossings, asylum accommodation and appeals pressures, and the rollout of contactless e-Gates at UK airports.
HC 584 Immigration Rules changes take effect from 8th October 2026: Right to Work checks and Student sponsor compliance tightens
Most of the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules HC 584 came into force this week, effective from 8th October 2026. They cover the Skilled Worker route, the EU Settlement Scheme, the Hong Kong BN(O) route, the Victim of Domestic Abuse route and Visitor permitted activities, including new provision for Erasmus+ participants. Part Suitability has also been amended so that an applicant who has frustrated immigration controls, for example by failing to report or absconding while on immigration bail, may be refused, and this now applies to applications made from within the UK as well as from abroad.
The main change to the Skilled Worker visa route protects sponsored workers who have been exploited. Under new paragraph SW 18.3 of Appendix Skilled Worker, a Skilled Worker who has been referred to the National Referral Mechanism and receives a positive Conclusive Grounds decision during their current permission can have their work conditions amended. They may then work for any employer for the rest of that permission, including self-employment and voluntary work, although not as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. The Home Office’s Explanatory Memorandum says the change is intended to encourage victims of modern slavery to come forward early and to prevent the sponsorship system being used as a means of control.
The Skilled Worker amendments apply from 8th October without a saving provision, and a separate technical amendment replaces the named provider Ecctis with a general reference to the qualification and English language assessment provider, with no change to the requirements. For several other routes, applications made before 8th October will be decided under the Rules in force on 7th October, so advisers should check the transitional wording route by route. Further changes follow on 29th October for religious worker routes, on 30th November for Student maintenance and on 9th December for an Appendix EU identity document change. HC 584 does not introduce the earned settlement reforms.
Employers should also note that right to work checks have widened. The extended Right to Work Scheme, introduced by section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, has applied since 1st October 2026. It now covers people engaged under a worker’s contract, individual sub-contractors and work arranged through online matching services such as delivery and cleaning platforms, where the engagement began on or after that date. A new extended liability regime also reaches businesses that use another employer’s workers to fulfil a contract, platforms that connect service providers with clients, and contracts containing substitution clauses.
To establish a statutory excuse, a business must complete a prescribed right to work check before work begins, using a manual document check, a Home Office online check with a share code or a registered digital verification service, and must repeat the check where permission is time limited. Under the updated Code of practice on preventing illegal working, the civil penalty starting point is £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat breach within three years, with reductions for reporting, cooperation and prompt payment. The Home Office’s employer’s guide to right to work checks and the right to work checklist were both updated on 1 October.
In addition to this, GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration updated the registers of licensed sponsors for workers and students on 5th October 2026, together with the first Sponsorship Management System user manual.
On student compliance, Times Higher Education reports that more universities could face sponsor licence action following the suspension of Buckinghamshire New University’s student sponsor licence on 30 September. The first suspension of a full university’s licence in a decade. Under Basic Compliance Assessment applied since June, a university with a visa refusal rate of 5% or more, down from 10%, is rated red, and repeated breaches can lead to suspension or revocation. Student visa refusal rates rose in the latest quarter to 34.2% for Pakistani applicants, 25% for Nigerian applicants and 9.1% for Indian applicants.
For a full coverage on the changes in effect from 8th October 2026, read our blog HERE
SEE OUR RIGHT TO WORKS CHECKS COURSE & SPONSOR LICENCE MASTERCLASS COURSE
SPECIAL OFFER TO BOOK BOTH COURSES ONLY £99!
Visitor visa Guidance Updates: Erasmus+, permitted activities
The HC 584 changes to the Visitor route came into force on 8th October 2026 and widen the permitted activities open to Standard Visitors. Visitors may now attend workshops and debates, take part in skills competitions, and accompany artists, entertainers and musicians as entertainment staff. The Rules also add new permitted activities for Erasmus+ participants (PA 20.1 to 20.4), covering training, traineeships, job shadowing and sports coaching assignments. Applications made before 8 October are decided under the Rules in force on 7 October.
The Home Office has updated its Visit caseworker guidance and published updates regarding the Erasmus+ applicants: coming to the UK, ahead of the UK’s return to the programme, with placements expected from January 2027.
Under the new guidance, Erasmus+ participants can use the Standard Visitor route for stays of up to six months, including study, school and academic exchanges, skills competitions, preparatory visits and youth projects such as DiscoverEU. Longer work placements require a Government Authorised Exchange visa with a certificate of sponsorship from IRARA, and longer study requires a Student or Child Student visa. Travellers who hold an Electronic Travel Authorisation must still meet the visitor requirements.
Applicants relying on the new Erasmus+ activities must show a genuine intention to take part in an Erasmus+ mobility project. A letter from the home institution, an invitation from the UK host or the Erasmus+ Learning or Mobility Agreement will normally be sufficient, and caseworkers will check that travel dates and documents match the placement. Traineeships for under-18s are limited to 30 days and must comply with the Working Time Regulations, and under-18s on traineeships or job shadowing need written consent from both a parent or guardian and their home institution.
The updated guidance also clarifies several existing permitted activities. Entertainment staff such as choreographers, stage managers and make-up artists may accompany an artist to the same event if they are employed overseas by that artist. Visitors may now undertake work-related training in the UK even where the same training is available at home, provided it remains classroom-based or observational and does not become training on the job. New worked examples on the manufacture and supply of goods confirm that company-to-company installation and servicing linked to the original contract is permitted, but installation in private homes is not.
On caring for relatives, a family member may look after a child or relative during a visit if the arrangement is temporary and informal and is not employment as a childminder or carer, while au pair arrangements continue to be refused. Advisers preparing visit visa applications should make sure that the stated purpose of the visit and the supporting documents clearly match the permitted activity relied upon.
Full coverage on the procedure, rules and regime on Visitor visa covered in Module 3 of Mastering Immigration Law. To unlock, subscribe here
Channel crossings rise as the UK–France returns pilot formally closes
The UK–France “one in, one out” migrant returns pilot formally ended on 1st October 2026 after France declined to renew the agreement, stopping new cases while allowing arranged removals to continue; between August 2025 and June 2026, 1,087 people were returned to France and 1,117 transferred to the UK, at an estimated cost of £56,000 per return, as France favoured a wider EU–UK migration agreement. UK small boat crossings and Channel migrant arrivals then rose sharply, with 1,282 people crossing the English Channel between 2 and 5 October 2026, the busiest four-day period of 2026, taking the provisional annual total to 20,478, around 40% lower than at the same point in 2025.
The rise intensified pressure on UK border security and Home Office asylum policy: 149 people landed at Gosport on 4 October, where 12 arrests followed a protest estimated to cost about £150,000 to police. Two men died after leaving Berck in northern France and two women were hospitalised with burns overnight on 4–5 October, bringing the reported 2026 death toll at the Franco-British maritime border to at least 24. Additionally, the National Crime Agency seized 25 inflatable migrant boats at East Midlands Airport on 2 October, with a potential capacity of about 1,700 people.
Full coverage on the procedure, rules and regime on International Protection covered in Module 8 of Mastering Immigration Law. To unlock, subscribe here
Asylum accommodation: further hotel exits and a High Court challenge
The Home Office is reducing asylum hotel use, with fewer than 170 operating compared with around 400 at the peak. The Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea will close to asylum seekers by the end of December 2026, while the George Hotel in Crawley and Phoenix Hotel near Epping are also being withdrawn, leaving no asylum hotels in Epping Forest. Meanwhile, the proposed RAF Linton-on-Ouse site could operate for at least three years, with local officials seeking confirmation that it would return to the Ministry of Defence for housing development by July 2029, while plans to accommodate around 149 asylum seekers in Aberdeen have been dropped.
The hotel closure process came before the High Court on 6 October, where the court heard that the Home Office had not assessed the impact of closing 12 hotels providing around 2,500 beds, most of them occupied by women and children. One family had reportedly been told to move from London to Aberdeen. Advisers supporting families facing relocation should ensure that evidence of schooling, healthcare and other support needs is submitted to the Home Office at the earliest opportunity.
Full coverage on the procedure, rules and regime on International Protection covered in Module 9 of Mastering Immigration Law. To unlock, subscribe here
Asylum appeals backlog, contactless e-Gates updates
The number of people waiting for an initial asylum decision fell by 56% in the year to June 2026, to just over 40,000, the lowest level since June 2019. The pressure has since moved to the First-tier Tribunal, where the latest statistics show 90,341 asylum appeals outstanding, up from 87,450 in the previous quarter.
At the border, UK airport e-Gates began switching to contactless technology on 6th October 2026. The new system checks a live photograph against immigration, travel and passport records, so eligible travellers no longer need to place their passport on the reader. The rollout started at East Midlands Airport for British citizens and will extend to other airports and eligible nationalities, with every e-Gate due to be upgraded by early 2027. Passengers must still carry their passports.
Full coverage on the procedure, rules and regime on Appeals and Judicial Review covered in Module 14 of Mastering Immigration Law. To unlock, subscribe here
Home Office Guidance and Policy Updates
To view the Home Office Guidance and Policies updated between 3rd October 2026 to 8th October 2026 visit here
Useful Links
Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 584
Airports to go contactless in major boost for UK passengers
UK Visas and Immigration: latest publications
UK ends ‘one in, one out’ migrant returns deal with France
Almost 1,300 small-boat migrants reach Britain in four days
12 arrested after protests in Gosport
Mega-dinghies seized at UK airport
Southsea hotel will no longer be asylum accommodation
Epping’s Phoenix Hotel to be emptied
RAF Linton asylum centre could face closure within three years
Aberdeen asylum accommodation plan dropped
High Court challenge over asylum hotel closures
Home Secretary reveals ministers lobby her for migrant worker visas
More UK universities ‘at risk’ over soaring visa refusal rates
What’s On
With HC 584 now in force, right to work checks widening for employers and further changes expected on settlement, immigration advisers need to stay vigilant to protect their clients’ interests.
HJT Training’s Mastering Immigration Law (MIL) subscription keeps you up to date, with every change to the Immigration Rules and policy and clear explanations to support your day-to-day casework. Subscribers receive the 2026–2027 hardcopy manual and immediate access to MIL’s online resources, which include full updates to the Immigration Rules.
Other benefits include 15% off live courses, free recordings, CPD certificates and much more, to help you meet your regulator’s CPD requirements.
Backed by more than 20 years as a trusted reference, the 2026–2027 hardcopy edition is available to pre-order at a special limited-time price of £199, and the offer ends 30 October 2026.
To subscribe, click here
To find out more or book a free demo, contact enquiries@hjt-training.co.uk or call 07446 466898.
Written by Shareen Khan, Legal Content Writer, HJT Training
Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration advisors should consult the full decisions and official policy documents when advising clients on specific cases.