The latest Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, HC 836, was laid before Parliament on 24 June 2025.
The changes focus on the EU Settlement Scheme, restricted-leave cases, International Civilian Employees, the Private Life route, Appendix Continuous Residence and Appendix Long Residence, among others.
The amendments take effect on staggered dates between 16 July and 29 July 2025, with no provisions commencing immediately.
Key changes from July 2025
The following is a summary of the key developments. To discuss the implications of the changes on your organisation or your individual plans, contact us.
Appendix Continuous Residence
Effective 29 July 2025
Appendix CR has been rewritten, largely for clarity. The only substantive alteration is that time spent in the Crown Dependencies (Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey) on an immigration route equivalent to a UK route now counts as lawful residence for UK settlement. The 180-day rolling absence limit, existing permitted-absence categories and the Covid concession remain unchanged.
Employers with staff who have worked in the Crown Dependencies should take note to recalculate settlement dates accordingly.
EU Settlement Scheme – permitted absences
Effective 16 July 2025
Pre-settled status holders will retain continuous residence, and can therefore progress to full settled status, provided they have spent a total of 30 months inside the UK during the most recent 60 months. Any combination of time in and out of the country is acceptable, so long as the 30-month presence threshold is met.
The earlier rules normally limited absences to six months in any 12-month period, with only one longer absence of up to 12 months allowed, so extended overseas postings often broke continuity.
The Home Office will apply the new 30-month test both to its automated upgrades from pre-settled to settled status and to any upgrade applications submitted on or after 16 July 2025.
Restricted leave and Part 9 refusals
Effective 16 July 2025
Individuals excluded from refugee or humanitarian protection under paragraphs 339AA, 339AC, 339D or 339GB may now be granted restricted leave only. Any application under another route must be refused or cancelled.
Sponsors should screen recruits for past exclusion findings, as refusal is mandatory.
International Civilian Employees
Effective 17 July 2025
Appendix International Armed Forces and International Civilian Employees is amended to let about 50 US Department of Energy specialists and contractors supporting US Forces obtain a single 60-day permission at the UK border.
Visa nationals in the cohort must still secure entry clearance before travel.
Appendix Private Life
Effective 29 July 2025
Adults granted Family route or leave outside the rules leave before 20 June 2022 who meet the “half-life” test can settle after five years, even if they turn 25 during that period.
Children granted as dependants before the same date who had lived in the UK for seven years also qualify for five-year settlement.
A new paragraph PL 15A aligns continuous residence rules for UK-born children with those for children born abroad when applying for settlement.
Appendix Long Residence
Effective 29 July 2025
Where British citizenship has been deprived, time spent in the UK while holding that citizenship no longer counts towards a ten-year long-residence application.
Appendix Electronic Travel Authorisation
Effective 16 July 2025
Under “Changes to Appendix Electronic Travel Authorisation” the statement substitutes new wording for paragraph ETA 1.1(f). From 16 July, an ETA will therefore be needed by three categories of travellers:
- Visitors (other than Marriage/Civil Partnership Visitors) coming for stays of up to six months.
- Creative Workers entering under the Temporary Work – Creative Worker route for engagements of up to six months.
- People making a local journey from the Republic of Ireland after arriving there from outside the Common Travel Area, or after leaving the UK when their limited leave has expired, provided they are not S2 Healthcare Visitors.
In short, HC 836 widens the ETA scheme to cover short-term Creative Workers and certain cross-border journeys via Ireland, alongside the existing visitor cohort, while marriage visitor and S2 Healthcare cases remain outside the scheme.
Appendix Student & Appendix Graduate
Effective 16 July 2025
The Rules replace paragraph ST 32.1 in Appendix Student and paragraphs GR 11.1–11.2 in Appendix Graduate. The new wording says a dependant partner will qualify only if the principal applicant either (a) already has permission on the Student or Graduate route or (b) is applying at the same time and is granted that permission. Both routes now cross-refer to Appendix Relationship with Partner, bringing them into line with the other Points-Based System categories and making refusal mandatory where the main application is refused.
Applications submitted before 16 July 2025 will be decided under the earlier text.
Appendix KOLL
Effective 16 July 2025
HC 836 updates paragraph 2.2 of Appendix Knowledge of Language and Life (KOLL). The redrafted provision now expands the “majority English-speaking” list by adding Malta and by grouping all British Overseas Territories under a single heading. A national or citizen of any country on the list meets the English-language limb of KOLL without further evidence.
It also clarifies the treatment of academic qualifications: a UK bachelor’s, master’s or PhD still suffices, but overseas degrees are now divided into two routes:
- Degrees awarded in one of the named anglophone countries: only Ecctis comparability is required.
- Degrees awarded elsewhere: Ecctis must confirm both comparability and that the programme was taught or researched in English.
The amendment also deletes the old “other English-speaking country” sub-paragraph, closing a drafting gap that had duplicated evidence paths.
Under the new rules, an applicant may also rely on a B1-level Secure English Language Test (SELT) taken for an earlier grant of leave, provided the provider remains on the Secretary of State’s approved list at the date of the new application.
Paragraph 2.2(c) now also points expressly to the test provider’s digital verification system rather than paper certificates.
For settlement and citizenship applicants, the rewrite offers two practical benefits: more nationals (for example, Maltese citizens) can meet KOLL without a test, and holders of older B1 SELT passes no longer need to re-sit a test so long as the issuing body is still approved.
Employers and advisers should update document checklists to reflect the expanded country list and the new Ecctis evidence routes.
Appendix FM & FM SE
Effective 16 July 2025
Appendix FM’s cross-reference in GEN 1.3(d) is corrected to “condition 1(a)(i)”, restoring consistency in the partner eligibility wording.
More substantively, paragraph 31 of Appendix FM SE is replaced to widen the evidence accepted for the family route English language waiver. A UK degree certificate remains sufficient proof.
For overseas degrees, the applicant still has to provide an Ecctis statement confirming UK comparability and that the course was taught or researched in English to at least A1/A2 level.
Where the certificate is delayed or cannot be re-issued, the applicant may submit either an academic reference or an official transcript on letterheaded paper that names the applicant, states the award title and explains when the certificate will be issued or why it is unobtainable.
Finally, paragraph 32D is amended so that a Secure English Language Test (SELT) previously accepted in any successful immigration route, not just a partner or parent application, can be re-used for Appendix FM purposes, provided the test provider remains on the approved list.
Together, these changes remove common documentary hurdles for recent graduates and streamline repeat applications for applicants who have already proved English at B1 level.
Need assistance?
To discuss the implications of the changes on your organisation or your individual plans, contact us.
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Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
