With a flurry of updates over recent months, we thought it could be useful to provide an overview of recent changes that have now come into effect. Some of these are quite significant.
Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
From 25 February 2026, those travelling to the UK who are not British and do not hold a valid visa must now obtain an ETA prior to travel.
This has created an issue for dual nationals where a person travelling to the UK is technically a British Citizen but has not obtained a British passport as they already hold a passport in their other nationality. The form requires all nationalities to be disclosed and when it is disclosed that the applicant has British nationality then they are required to enter the UK using a British passport.
For children born outside the UK who have a passport for the country they were born in but have not obtained a British passport, this will prevent them travelling to the UK, even though they are British, simply because they have not obtained a British passport.
For dual nationals holding British nationality but without a British passport, you now need to obtain a British passport if you want to be permitted to enter the UK.
Work Visas – Required English Language Level Increased
From 08 January 2026, lead applicants (not dependants) in the Skilled Worker visa, High Potential Individual visa and Scale-Up visa categories are now required to demonstrate English language ability to Level B2.
Those in these visa categories prior to 08 January 2026 can continue to meet the previous B1 Level and are not required to meet this higher English language requirement.
Replacement of visa vignettes with eVisas
An expanding range of visas are now being issued electronically, with visitor visas joining the list recently. The Home Office have stated that all visas will be issued as eVisas by ‘late 2026’.
General Home Office Fee Increases
The Home Office continue to increase fees at a significant rate.
The Immigration Skills Charge (paid when assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship) increased from £1,000 per year (£364 for small sponsors) to £1,320 (£480 for small sponsors) from 16 December 2025. An increase of 32%. This was in addition to a previous increase to the cost of assigning a CoS from £239 to £525 in April 2025.
The Immigration Health Surcharge is now at £1,035 per year of visa grant for adults and £776 per year of visa grant for children, all payable in advance when applying for the visa.
Priority change of circumstances requests were increased from £200 to £350.
Skilled Worker Visa Changes
The minimum salary for sponsorship of a Skilled Worker visa is now £41,700 per annum, increased from £31,300 in April 2025. A variety of transitional arrangements are in place for those already in the UK with a Skilled Worker visa.
The minimum skill level for sponsorship in the Skilled Worker Visa category was increased to RQF Level 6 from July 2025. Lower-skilled roles can still be sponsored for some roles that were moved into the Temporary Shortage List (TSL). Workers being sponsored in a role that is in the TSL cannot bring dependants with them (those who held a Skilled Worker visa prior to this change can still bring dependants). The TSL is due to be removed at the end of 2026 but could potentially be extended.
Also in July 2025, sponsorship of Care Workers and Senior Care Workers in the Health & Care Worker visa category was no longer possible for new recruits coming from outside the UK.
High Potential Individual Visa Expanded
The High Potential Individual Visa allows graduates from certain Universities to come to the UK with the right to work.
The number of recognised universities was doubled in November 2025 from 50 to 100 institutions and an annual cap of 8,000 visas now applies.
It is perhaps worth noting that the number of people coming to the UK under the HPI route was around 2,000 per year. This is expected to double (presumably based on having doubled the number of recognised universities), but this would still be well within the 8,000 annual cap. Caps have been previously introduced in other visa categories and were very rarely met.
In Summary:
Lots of regular changes to immigration rules invariably leads to the introduction of a variety of transitional arrangements that could apply to applicants, depending on their visa history. Further significant changes are proposed, including changes to eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Companies holding a Sponsor Licence, or considering submitting a Sponsor Licence Application, and individuals applying for visas will benefit from professional assistance now more than ever due to the ever-increasing complexity of the rules.
