Migration Reform

I am today laying before the House a statement of changes in immigration rules.

The number of asylum claims from people who arrived in the UK on a visa or other leave has tripled since the year ending June 2022. Nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan present some of the highest proportions of asylum claims to visas issued. In total, as of September 2025, 15,906 of these nationals are in receipt of Home Office support, including 6,412 individuals in hotels.

To protect UK border security, we are introducing a visa brake for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan. This will come into force on 26 March 2026. This means we will refuse student visa applications from main applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan. Additionally, we will refuse skilled worker visa applications from main applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan. The brake will not apply to applications made before 26 March. We are publicising the changes so that travellers can plan accordingly.

The brake will meet the intent of the immigration White Paper and the asylum policy statement. Its key aim is to reduce the strain on the asylum system. It will also strengthen public confidence in the immigration system.

The decision to introduce a visa brake has been taken solely for migration and border security reasons. The brake is not intended to be permanent and will be regularly reviewed, with the aim of ensuring that it can be released as soon as it is considered appropriate to do so.

We are amending the existing rule to reduce the duration of permission to stay from five years to 30 months for those recognised as refugees or in need of humanitarian protection. Renewal of protection will not be equivalent to making an initial asylum claim. The rules will come into force from 26 March and will apply to adults and families, including accompanied asylum-seeking children who claim asylum on and after 2 March 2026.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will be exempt from this change and will continue to receive five years’ permission to stay. This will remain Home Office policy while the pathway for this cohort is developed.

As part of the “restoring order and control” package, I am making changes to the further submissions process, which enables individuals to present evidence following the refusal or withdrawal of their asylum claim, once all appeal rights have been exhausted.

Under these reforms, individuals will be required to meet all validity requirements at the point they make further submissions. This includes: being in the UK when further submissions are made; being a failed asylum seeker, meaning that their initial asylum claim has been refused or withdrawn; and having no outstanding appeal rights or other ongoing protection claims or appeals. Where these requirements are not met, the further submissions may be rejected as invalid without consideration.

In addition, I am also introducing a new provision for implicit withdrawal, similar to the arrangements already in place for initial asylum claims. This will allow the Home Office to treat further submissions as withdrawn where an individual fails to comply with process requirements, including maintaining contact with the Home Office, attending reporting events and responding to requests for information.

This minor addition to the existing rule about the disclosure of information relating to an individual’s asylum claim clarifies that the rule does not prevent the Home Office from confirming, in certain cases, that an asylum claim has been made by an individual claimant. However, the change also states that the Home Office must ensure that the release of such information is in the public interest.

I am introducing a visa requirement for all visitors from Nicaragua and St Lucia. This will come into force at 15:00 Greenwich mean time today. Nationals of Nicaragua and St Lucia will also need a direct airside transit visa when transiting through the UK. They will no longer be eligible to apply for an electronic travel authorisation for travel to the UK.

A six-week visa-free transition period will apply for those who already hold an ETA and have confirmed UK travel booked on or before 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026, where arrival in the UK is no later than 15:00 BST on 16 April 2026. We are publicising these changes to support traveller awareness and planning. This action follows significant numbers of Nicaraguan and St Lucian nationals travelling to the UK for purposes not permitted under visitor rules, including to claim asylum, creating unsustainable pressure at the border and on the asylum system. Concerns also remain about St Lucia’s Citizenship By Investment programme. While the UK welcomes ongoing programme reforms, the inherent risk of Citizenship by Investment and issues linked to the programme’s past operation and legacy cases further increases the need for a visit visa requirement at this time.

This decision has been taken solely for migration and border security reasons. We keep the border and immigration system under regular review to ensure it continues to work in the UK national interest.

The Government remain steadfast in their support for the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion. From the outset of the conflict, the Government have acted decisively and compassionately, offering sanctuary to over 310,000 Ukrainians through the Ukraine family scheme, the Homes for Ukraine scheme, and the Ukraine extension scheme.

Changes to Appendix Ukraine are being introduced to ensure that the Ukraine schemes continue to provide stable and secure protection for those displaced by the ongoing conflict, while giving individuals and families greater certainty about their status in the UK. Extending Ukraine permission extension leave by a further 24 months reflects the Government’s commitment to maintaining temporary sanctuary for Ukrainians. Increasing the application window from 28 to 90 days is designed to make the process more accessible and reduce unnecessary pressure on applicants. This extension will remain fee-free, and those granted permission to remain under UPE will continue to be able to access work, benefits, healthcare, and education.

In addition, the changes ensure that no one loses any existing permission they currently hold: any extant leave will be preserved and added to their new grant. This package of amendments is intended to improve clarity, support continuity for families, and provide reassurance while the future situation in Ukraine remains uncertain.

The White Paper “Restoring Control over the Immigration System”, published in May 2025, set out the Government’s plans to introduce new English language requirements across a broader range of immigration routes, including arrangements for settlement routes. Reformed English language requirements will help to ensure that those who come here to build their lives in the UK can integrate into life in this country. We are commencing implementation of those plans in relation to settlement applications through these rules changes, which increase the English language requirement for settlement to B2 level under the common European framework of reference for languages for a number of routes where the existing requirement is at B1 level.

The changes to the English language requirements for settlement applications will come into force on 26 March 2027, providing those subject to the new requirements with sufficient opportunity to take any steps necessary to meet them. Further changes to English language requirements in relation to settlement applications will be considered in the light of the Government’s assessment of responses to the recent consultation on proposals for earned settlement.

For the changes that introduce a visit visa requirement for nationals of Nicaragua and Saint Lucia, due to the need to safeguard the operation of the UK’s immigration system, those changes will come into effect at 15:00 on 5 March 2026. The changes relating to the introduction of the visa brake, disclosure of information relating to asylum claims, and reducing the duration of refugee and humanitarian protection permission to stay will come into force on 26 March 2026. The changes to the procedure and rights of appeal changes for failed asylum seekers, global business mobility and scale-up routes, and the further extension of the Ukraine permission extension scheme, will come into force on 8 April 2026.

As set out in the Restoring Order and Control statement, I am making further legislative changes to revoke the current legal obligation to provide asylum support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, and am restoring the power to offer support, as previously provided under domestic law. This is the first step in moving to a more conditional support system. A statutory instrument is being laid in Parliament today and the policy will come into force in June. The overarching intention is to ensure that support is focused on those who genuinely need it and comply with the system.

I am also amending existing conditions of support legislation to enable the suspension or discontinuation of asylum support where an asylum seeker is working illegally. This will apply where support is provided under sections 4, 95 and 98 of the 1999 Act. Those who are offered asylum support are expected to comply with the conditions of that support. This change is to ensure that asylum support is provided to those who comply with the rules of the asylum system. This will be done via two instruments. The first will amend regulation 20(1) of the Asylum Support Regulations 2000 for section 95 and section 98 support, and this change will come into force on 27 March 2026. The second will amend regulation 6 of the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum Seekers) Regulations 2005 for section 4 support, and will come into force on 2 June 2026.

I am beginning today to consult with a range of partners and stakeholders over a 12-week period on our approach to family returns. Within a fair, effective and orderly immigration and asylum system, it has to be the case that families with no legal right to remain in the United Kingdom depart. The family returns process is designed to maximise voluntary departures and minimise enforcement—but where a family chooses to remain here, compliance with the requirement to leave will be enforced.

The consultation will seek views on the commencement of provisions in part 5 of the Immigration Act 2016 that reform the support available to families with no legal basis to remain in the UK and the framework under which support may be provided or discontinued. These changes will provide clarity and consistency across the system by ensuring that support is focused on those who truly require it, while reinforcing the expectation that families will depart from the UK if they no longer have a lawful basis to stay.

The consultation also seeks views on the Government’s approach to enforcing the return of families who do not depart voluntarily. This includes proposals relating to the circumstances in which physical interventions may be used in the course of an enforced return, and the safeguards, oversight and reporting requirements that should apply. These proposals emphasise the need for clear, proportionate processes that enable enforcement activity to proceed safely, with the welfare of children remaining a primary consideration.

A copy of the consultation will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

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