The United Kingdom’s 24 June 2025 Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules

At a Glance

• Under the revised definition of “continuous qualifying period”, individuals with pre-settled status can now be absent from the United Kingdom for up to 30 months in any five-year period without breaking their residence. 
• Changes take effect between 16 July 2025 and 29 July 2025, depending on the specific rule. Applications submitted before the relevant commencement date will be assessed under the previous version of the Immigration Rules.
• This Statement forms part of the government’s broader immigration reform programme, aimed at reducing net migration and preventing abuse of the system. The broader package includes raising the skills threshold for Skilled Worker visas, removing 111 eligible occupations.

On 24 June 2025, the UK Home Office laid before Parliament a new Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (the Rules). These changes focus on technical clarification, policy alignment and the formalisation of prior concessions across various immigration routes. Below is a summary of the key changes taking effect from July 2025. 

Updates to Family and Partner Routes

Spouses and Partners of Settled Persons seeking leave to remain as a spouse or partner of a person settled in the United Kingdom will now benefit from more structured criteria. The Rules confirm that the applicant must have held immigration permission granted for six months or more (except where previously granted as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) and must not have held leave as a partner of a Points-Based System migrant. English language requirements have been restructured to provide greater clarity and flexibility — particularly for applicants relying on academic qualifications taught in English. 

These changes reflect a consolidation of previous policies and bring consistency across different parts of the Rules, without adding substantive requirements. 

Changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

Under the revised definition of “continuous qualifying period”, individuals with pre-settled status can now be absent from the United Kingdom for up to 30 months in any five-year period without breaking their residence. This replaces the more rigid six-months-per-year standard and ensures that those with lawful but extended absences (e.g., for work or family reasons) are not unfairly excluded from progressing to settled status. 

Expanded Settlement Pathways Under Private Life and Long Residences 

The Rules now provide a five-year route to settlement for certain individuals previously required to wait 10 years. These include: 

• Young adults who were granted leave before 20 June 2022 and meet the “half-life” test (i.e., have lived at least half of their life in the United Kingdom). 
• Children who were granted leave based on seven years’ continuous residence. 

Continuous Residence — A Unified Framework 

A new Appendix Continuous Residence now sets out how breaks in residence will be assessed across multiple immigration routes.

Key points include:

• Absences from the United Kingdom are limited to 180 days in any rolling 12-month period, with recognised exceptions for serious illness, global crises, academic research and accompanying a family member abroad. 
• Time spent in the Crown Dependencies (Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey) will count towards residence in the UK if the individual held equivalent immigration permission. 
• Periods without permission that have been regularised (e.g., following a successful application under paragraph 39E) may not break continuity, but will not count towards the qualifying period. 

These changes ensure consistency in how residence is calculated, reducing the likelihood of technical refusals based on complex or inconsistently applied rules.

Graduate, Student and Family Reunion Route Adjustments 

Minor amendments were made to clarify eligibility criteria for dependants under the Student and Graduate routes. The Family Reunion route has also been streamlined by removing a duplicative provision (namely, FRP 2.2), with no change to substantive policy. 

Updates to the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) Scheme

The ETA framework now explicitly includes:

• Creative Workers entering under the Temporary Work route
• Certain individuals travelling from the Republic of Ireland after having entered from a place outside the Common Travel Area
• Individuals who left the United Kingdom with limited leave to enter or remain, which has since expired

These changes ensure the ETA requirements align with practical travel scenarios, especially for short-term or border-specific travel.

Implementation Timeline

Changes take effect between 16 July 2025 and 29 July 2025, depending on the specific rule. Applications submitted before the relevant commencement date will be assessed under the previous version of the Rules. 

Wider Policy Context

This Statement forms part of the government’s broader immigration reform programme, aimed at reducing net migration and preventing abuse of the system. According to this Home Office press release, the broader package includes: 

• Raising the skills threshold for Skilled Worker visas, removing 111 eligible occupations
• Closing the social care worker visa route to overseas recruitment in response to widespread abuse and exploitation
• Only allowing time-limited access below degree level through a targeted immigration salary list and temporary shortage list, solely for critical roles, with strict requirements for sectors to grow domestic skills
• Commissioning the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to conduct a review of the temporary shortage list including occupations, salaries and benefits

For More Information

We will be providing a further update shortly on the next set of reforms, laid before Parliament on 1 July 2025, which continue the government’s phased overhaul of the Immigration Rules.