Policy paper

Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1715, 19 July 2023 (accessible)

Updated 13 September 2023

Presented to Parliament pursuant to section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971

Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 19 July 2023

(This document is accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum)

HC 1715

© Crown copyright 2023

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Queries should be directed to the Home Office as per the ‘Contact UKVI’ section on the visas and immigration pages of the GOV.UK website at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration.

Specific written queries relating to this Statement of Changes should be directed to StatementofChanges@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please note that this mailbox is only for Parliamentary use and specific technical queries regarding the drafting of this Statement of Changes. It is not a contact point for general enquiries. Queries to this e-mail address from outside Parliament about other immigration issues, including how these changes affect applications, will not receive a response.

A copy of this Statement of Changes can be found at www.gov.uk/official-documents and also on the visas and immigration pages of the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes

ISBN 978-1-5286-4360-3 E02946704                        07/23

Statement of changes in Immigration Rules

The Home Secretary has made the changes hereinafter stated in the rules laid down by them as to the practice to be followed in the administration of the Immigration Acts for regulating entry into and the stay of persons in the United Kingdom and contained in the statement laid before Parliament on 23 May 1994 (HC 395) as amended. The amending statements were laid before, or presented to, Parliament on 20 September 1994 (Cm 2663), 26 October 1995 (HC 797), 4 January 1996 (Cm 3073), 7 March 1996 (HC 274), 2 April 1996 (HC 329), 29 August 1996 (Cm 3365), 31 October 1996 (HC 31), 27 February 1997 (HC 338), 29 May 1997 (Cm 3669), 5 June 1997 (HC 26), 30 July 1997 (HC 161), 11 May 1998 (Cm 3953), 7 October 1998 (Cm 4065), 18 November 1999 (HC 22), 28 July 2000 (HC 704), 20 September 2000 (Cm 4851), 28 August 2001 (Cm 5253), 16 April 2002 (HC 735), 27 August 2002 (Cm 5597), 7 November 2002 (HC 1301), 26 November 2002 (HC 104), 8 January 2003 (HC 180), 10 February 2003 (HC 389), 31 March 2003 (HC 538), 30 May 2003 (Cm 5829), 24 August 2003 (Cm 5949), 12 November 2003 (HC 1224), 17 December 2003 (HC 95), 12 January 2004 (HC 176), 26 February 2004 (HC 370), 31 March 2004 (HC 464), 29 April 2004 (HC 523), 3 August 2004 (Cm 6297), 24 September 2004 (Cm 6339), 18 October 2004 (HC 1112), 20 December 2004 (HC 164), 11 January 2005 (HC 194), 7 February 2005 (HC 302), 22 February 2005 (HC 346), 24 March 2005 (HC 486), 15 June 2005 (HC 104), 12 July 2005 (HC 299), 24 October 2005 (HC 582), 9 November 2005 (HC 645), 21 November 2005 (HC 697), 19 December 2005 (HC 769), 23 January 2006 (HC 819), 1 March 2006 (HC 949), 30 March 2006 (HC 1016), 20 April 2006 (HC 1053), 19 July 2006 (HC 1337), 18 September 2006 (Cm 6918), 7 November 2006 (HC 1702), 11 December 2006 (HC 130), 19 March 2007 (HC 398), 3 April 2007 (Cm 7074), 4 April 2007 (Cm 7075), 7 November 2007 (HC 28), 13 November 2007 (HC 40), 19 November 2007 (HC 82), 6 February 2008 (HC 321), 17 March 2008 (HC 420), 9 June 2008 (HC 607), 10 July 2008 (HC 951), 15 July 2008 (HC 971), 4 November 2008 (HC 1113), 9 February 2009 (HC 227), 9 March 2009 (HC 314), 24 April 2009 (HC 413), 9 September 2009 (Cm 7701), 23 September 2009 (Cm 7711), 10 December 2009 (HC 120), 10 February 2010 (HC 367), 18 March 2010 (HC 439), 28 June 2010 (HC 59), 15 July 2010 (HC 96), 22 July 2010 (HC 382), 19 August 2010 (Cm 7929), 1 October 2010 (Cm 7944), 21 December 2010 (HC 698), 16 March 2011 (HC 863), 31 March 2011 (HC 908), 13 June 2011 (HC 1148), 19 July 2011 (HC 1436), 10 October 2011 (HC 1511), 7 November 2011 (HC 1622), 8 December 2011 (HC 1693), 20 December 2011 (HC 1719), 19 January 2012 (HC 1733), 15 March 2012 (HC 1888), 4 April 2012 (Cm 8337), 13 June 2012 (HC 194), 9 July 2012 (HC 514), 19 July 2012 (Cm 8423), 5 September 2012 (HC 565), 22 November 2012 (HC 760), 12 December 2012 (HC 820), 20 December 2012 (HC 847), 30 January 2013 (HC 943), 7 February 2013 (HC 967), 11 March 2013 (HC 1038), 14 March 2013 (HC 1039), 9 April 2013 (Cm 8599), 10 June 2013 (HC 244), 31 July 2013 (Cm 8690), 6 September 2013 (HC 628), 9 October 2013 (HC 686), 8 November 2013 (HC 803), 9 December 2013 (HC 887), 10 December 2013 (HC 901), 18 December 2013 (HC 938), 10 March 2014 (HC 1130), 13 March 2014 (HC 1138), 1 April 2014 (HC 1201), 10 June 2014 (HC 198), 10 July 2014 (HC 532), 16 October 2014 (HC 693), 26 February 2015 (HC 1025), 16 March 2015 (HC1116), 13 July 2015 (HC 297), 17 September 2015 (HC 437), 29 October 2015 (HC535), 11 March 2016 (HC 877), 3 November 2016 (HC 667), 16 March 2017 (HC 1078), 20 July 2017 (HC 290), 7 December 2017 (HC 309), 15 March 2018 (HC 895), 15 June 2018 (HC 1154), 20 July 2018 (Cm 9675), 11 October 2018 (HC 1534), 11 December 2018 (HC 1779), 20 December 2018 (HC 1849), 7 March 2019 (HC 1919), 1 April 2019 (HC 2099), 9 September 2019 (HC 2631), 24 October 2019 (HC 170), 30 January 2020 (HC 56), 12 March 2020 (HC 120), 14 May 2020 (CP 232), 10 September 2020 (HC 707), 22 October 2020 (HC 813), 10 December 2020 (HC 1043), 31 December 2020 (CP 361), 4 March 2021 (HC 1248), 10 September 2021 (HC 617), 11 October 2021 (CP 542), 1 November 2021 (HC 803), 14 December 2021 (HC 913), 24 January 2022 (HC 1019), 17 February 2022 (CP 632), 15 March 2022 (HC 1118), 29 March 2022 (HC 1220), 11 May 2022 (HC 17), 20 July 2022 (HC 511), 18 October 2022 (HC 719), 9 March 2023 (HC 1160) and 17 July 2023 (HC 1496).

Implementation

These changes shall take effect at 1500 on 19 July 2023. In relation to those changes, if an application for entry clearance, leave to enter or leave to remain, has been made before 19 July 2023, such applications will be decided in accordance with the Immigration Rules in force on 18 July 2023.

Review

Before the end of each review period, the Secretary of State undertakes to review all of the relevant Immigration Rules including any Relevant Rule amended or added by these changes. The Secretary of State will set out the conclusions of the review in a report and publish the report.

The report must in particular:

• consider each of the Relevant Rules and whether or not each Relevant Rule achieves its objectives and is still appropriate; and
• assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.

“Review period” means:

• the period of five years beginning on 6 April 2017; and

• subject to the paragraph below, each successive period of five years.

If a report under this provision is published before the last day of the review period to which it relates, the following review period is to begin with the day on which that report is published.

“Relevant Rule” means an Immigration Rule which:

imposes requirements, restrictions or conditions, or sets standards, in relation to any activity carried on by a business or voluntary or community body; or

relates to the securing of compliance with, or the enforcement of, requirements, restrictions, conditions or standards which relate to any activity carried on by a business or voluntary or community body.

Changes to Appendix Visitor: Visa national list

APP VN1. In VN 1.1.(a), after “Djibouti”, insert “Dominica”. APP VN2. In VN 1.1.(a), after “Haiti”, insert “Honduras”.

APP VN3. In VN 1.1.(a), after “Myanmar (formerly Burma)”, insert “Namibia”. APP VN4. In VN 1.1.(a), after “Thailand”, insert “Timor-Leste”.

APP VN5. In VN 1.1.(a), after “Uzbekistan”, insert “Vanuatu”.

APP VN6. After VN 2.2(n), insert:

“(o) nationals or citizens of Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, Timor- Leste, and Vanuatu, who hold confirmed bookings to the UK made on or before 15:00 BST 19 July 2023 where arrival in the UK is no later than 16 August 2023.”.