Policy paper

Changes to Immigration Rules: statement of policy

Non-substantive changes for sponsors and migrants coming to the UK under the following routes of the points-based system.

From:
Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration
Published
22 November 2012

Documents

Statement of policy - changes to Immigration Rules

PDF, 1.04 MB, 13 pages

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Details

These include non-substantive changes for sponsors and migrants coming to the UK under the following routes of the points-based system:

  • Tier 1 - entrepreneurs and investors
  • Tier 2 - skilled workers, including changes for senior intra-company transfers
  • Tier 4 - students, including extending the interim limit
  • Tier 5 - temporary workers, including the requirements for the government-authorised exchange category and private servants in a diplomatic household
  • sponsorship - revised sponsorship guidance will be published in December

In addition, there are changes to the rules affecting:

Criminality

  • establishing a more robust and clear criminality framework to assess immigration applications against which immigration applications will be assessed
  • recalculating the length of time, based on the length of sentence, before we will revoke a deportation order
  • introduction of a re-entry ban, for some foreign national offenders who have been removed from the UK as part of a conditional caution and additional powers to end (curtail) a migrant’s visa or leave
  • creation of a ‘route’ for ex-armed forces to remain in the UK.

Settlement

  • amendments to clarify  the absences from the UK that are allowed during the  continuous residence period for Tier 1 (General), Tier 2 and pre-points-based system work routes (for example work permits, self-employment and business person).

Family and private life

  • minor changes to the child and parent routes to make them as clear and comprehensive as possible

There will also be some changes to the youth mobility scheme quotas and the Tier 4 loan letters in early 2013.

You can check these statement of changes in Immigration Rules on the UK Border Agency website.

Updates to this page

Published 22 November 2012

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