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2026 UK immigration changes to be aware of

By Vanessa Ganguin, Managing Partner, Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law

This Spring didn’t bring the curtailment of work immigration routes of previous years, but the UK Government has published a swathe of important changes.

Increased data-sharing across government systems such as tax and corporate records has led to a massive increase in enforcement action against employers, so it is crucial to keep up to date with compliance and any changes in circumstances that must be reported. Below are the key immigration changes to be aware of.

Expanded right to work checks for sponsors

According to new guidance, employers with a licence to sponsor migrants must from April check the right to work of any worker they “directly engage” as well as employees, whether sponsored or not. According to sponsor guidance updated in April and effective immediately, an organisation’s sponsor licence can now be revoked where a sponsor is “employing or engaging” a worker (whether sponsored or not) who does not have the right to work. 

Many organisations with sponsor licences will not have been carrying out right to work checks on self-employed workers and will be unaware of their status as it was not a requirement. Sponsors may want legal advice on how to interpret the new Home Office guidance.

For now, only employers with a sponsor licence face these new expanded duties, which we expect to be rolled out to everyone during 2026 or 2027. 

Following last year’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, right to work checks and the severe financial penalties they provide protection from are set to be broadened from employees to encompass employment “and other working arrangements” for all employers. 

Pay periods for Skilled Worker minimum salary thresholds

Workers on Skilled Worker visas must be paid the higher of the minimum salary threshold for the route or the going rate for their occupation. From 8 April 2026, rather than ensure they have been paid the minimum figure over a whole year, minimum salary requirements must be met in shorter pay periods. This will affect sponsoring employers with workers who have varied work patterns. 

The salary paid in each pay period must equal or exceed the going rate for an occupation code for every hour worked in that period. Subject to permitted salary subtractions and uneven hours, if paid at a frequency of monthly or less, the salary paid over any three-month period must be at least equal to a quarter of the required annual salary. If paid more frequently, the salary paid to the worker over any 12-week period must be at least equal to 12/52 of the required annual salary. 

If the worker is sponsored to work a pattern where regular hours are not the same each week, resulting in uneven pay, the sponsor must confirm the working pattern and the salary over any 17-week period must be at least equal to 17/52 of the required annual salary. The sponsor must confirm any permitted salary subtractions taking place over a shorter period than the length of time the applicant is being sponsored for, to account for differences in their salary records.

There are also new Immigration Rules regarding how situations where a Skilled Worker repays their employer for certain immigration costs are considered by the Home Office if their pay differs between pay periods. In such cases sponsors must confirm any permitted salary subtractions taking place over a shorter period than the length of time the applicant is being sponsored for, to account for differences in their salary records. 

I would recommend you seek legal advice sooner rather than later if any of this applies to your sponsored workers.

Other new sponsorship requirements 

Sponsors are now required to read the entire sponsor guidance including Part 1, 2 and 3, the appendices, immigration route specific guidance and the glossary and to be aware of updates. 

The guidance has also been updated to require sponsors ensure workers understand their employment rights. It is worth reviewing documents provided to workers to ensure they cover all their rights.

Data-led EU Settled Status conversion and curtailment

Newly expanded automated checks allow the Home Office to automatically convert more people with pre-settled status to settled status on the EU Settlement Scheme. The tax and travel data the Home Office use may also facilitate settled status curtailment due to failing continuous residence requirements. Cancellation decisions are not automatic and must be proportional. They can also be appealed.

B2 English language requirements

The English language requirement for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) in most immigration routes is being increased from CERF B1 to B2. These changes take effect on 26 March 2026. However, the amendments contain transitional provisions which mean that these changes will only affect settlement applications lodged on or after 26 March 2027. B2 is in line with the new English requirements for Skilled Worker, Scale-up Worker and High Potential Individual applications from 8 January 2026. 

Youth Mobility Scheme

While quotas for the 13 countries which have Youth Mobility Schemes with the UK stay the same or go up slightly this year, negotiations continue between the UK and EU over a similar reciprocal temporary visa scheme for young people. We expect more announcements later this year, but there are sticking points over caps on total numbers and whether Europeans should pay much higher international fees as students in the UK.

Mandatory refusals for 12-month sentences, even if suspended

A 12-month or above custodial sentence is mandatory grounds for refusal of a visa application or renewal, but this now includes where the sentence was suspended, however long ago the sentence was handed down and wherever in the world sentencing took place. There are no transitional provisions so this may affect those already granted permission to live and work in the UK when it comes to renewing their visa or applying for indefinite leave to remain. 

There may be exceptions where a conviction abroad is for something that would not be criminalised in the UK and in some cases, there may be human rights grounds to appeal. 

Global Business Mobility – Secondment worker

From 8 April 2026, applicants applying in this route will need to have worked outside the UK for their overseas employer for a cumulative period of at least six months (down from 12 months) before entering the route.

Asylum seekers may now work in more skilled roles

Asylum seekers who have waited over a year for their claim to be decided can request permission to work without having to be sponsored. Up to 26 March 2026 they were only able to work in a handful of occupations on the UK Government’s Immigration Salary List.

They can now work in many more occupations listed in the Appendix Skilled Occupations of the UK Immigration Rules as long as the skill level is RQF 6 or above (i.e. degree level in job skill level, not necessarily academic attainment). 

Refugees who successfully claim asylum on or after 2 March 2026 will now be granted 30 months of permission instead of five years. When the Home Office is considering an application, it will examine whether it is now safe for the applicant to return home. This applies to both grants of asylum and Humanitarian Protection. Unaccompanied children are also not affected by these changes.

You can read more about these and other 2026 UK immigration changes here. 

Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law is a boutique immigration law practice in London, advising on all aspects of UK business and private immigration and nationality, with a personal, partner-led approach.