As many of you know, in June 2025, the UK Government has proposed a new Statement of Changes. Among these, one of the biggest changes is regarding settlement routes, which have been made a bit easier for those who are not yet settled. (Changes to UK visa)
You may have heard that now, children who came from abroad can apply for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) after 5 years. There are also several other minor changes the UK government has made across different visa types.
1. Changes to Appendix: Long Residence
The required time period for long residence is being clarified. The time spent as a British citizen will now be considered as lawful presence unless that citizenship has been revoked.
So, if you were a British citizen but your citizenship was taken away, then the time you spent as a citizen will not count toward continuous residence. For example, if you were on a visa for 7 years, then got ILR, and stayed in the UK for 10 years—but later your British citizenship was revoked—then the time you spent as a citizen will not count towards applying for citizenship again under another route.
2. Changes to Appendix: Continuous Residence
Previously, time spent in UK Crown Dependencies like the Isle of Man or Jersey was not considered as lawful presence in the UK. But now, it will be. So, if you’ve lived in any of these Crown Dependencies, that time will now count as lawful residence in the UK.
3. Changes to Appendix: Private Life
As many of you know, PR (Permanent Residency) or settlement rules are slightly different for children—especially those born in the UK vs those who came from outside.
- If your child was born in the UK and has lived here continuously for 7 years, they can apply for settlement after 7 years. It’s that simple.
- However, for children not born in the UK, the law used to be more complicated.
Earlier:
- A child born abroad and brought to the UK had to live here continuously for 7 years.
- After 7 years, they would be given a visa for 5 years, typically in two parts: 2.5 + 2.5 years.
- If their age was still under 18 by the end of those 12 years total, they could apply for settlement.
- But if they turned 18 or above during that time, they had to follow another route (like showing they spent half their life in the UK or go under the 10-year route).
Now:
This has been updated. If a child comes from abroad, spends 7 years continuously in the UK, and then completes their 5-year visa—even if they turn 18 during that period—they can still apply for settlement. They no longer need to follow the 10-year route or other difficult alternatives.
This is a major positive change for families whose children were not born in the UK but have been living here for a long time.
4. Changes to EU Settlement (Pre-settled Status)
If you’re an EU national with pre-settled status, the old rule required that you should not stay outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period.
Now this has been simplified:
- Within your 5-year (60-month) qualifying period, you are allowed to be outside the UK for up to 30 months.
- That means: as long as you’re in the UK for 30 out of those 60 months, your file will still be accepted.
This is a big change from the old 180-day annual limit.
5. Changes for Asylum Seekers
The Home Office now states: Foreign nationals excluded from asylum or humanitarian protection due to their conduct will no longer be welcome in the UK. They will be deported or administratively removed, unless doing so would breach the UK’s obligations under European or human rights laws.
So, if someone had asylum or protection, but it was revoked due to criminal activity, they will not be allowed to stay via other routes either. Their applications will be refused.
This is a strict change. So, it’s very important to keep your criminal record clean while in the UK—no matter which visa category you’re on—because any violation could harm your chances of settlement.
6. Changes to Accepted English Language Certificates
If you previously applied for a visa using an English language test certificate that was accepted by the UK Home Office, you can now reuse that same certificate when applying for a different visa category.
This is a very welcome change—you don’t need to retake another test or provide new proof if the same certificate was accepted earlier. It helps reduce stress and effort during re-application.
Summary:
These were all the minor and major changes the UK Government has made to its immigration rules.
The biggest change is about ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) for children who came from abroad and lived in the UK for a long time—even if they turn 18 during the visa process, they can still apply for settlement.
