UNITED KINGDOM – Home Office issues new Immigration Rules Statement of Changes  

March 17, 2025


By: Jaana Hennessy, Senior Manager, Immigration, Newland Chase

The Home Office issued a new Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 733 on March 12, 2025, together with an Explanatory Memorandum and a ministerial statement.

The Statement of Changes will come into force for the relevant visa categories on the following dates:

  • 3pm, March 12, 2025: A visa requirement on all visitors from Trinidad and Tobago
  • April 2, 2025: Electronic travel authorisation (ETA) exemptions
  • April 9, 2025: Protection for care workers, skilled worker salary changes, EU Settlement Scheme, Administrative review, and Ukraine Schemes
  • May 29, 2025: Appendix Child Student
  • August 4, 2025: Appendix Global Talent and Global Talent

Introduction of a visa requirement for Trinidad and Tobago nationals

  • From 3pm on March 12, 2025, nationals of Trinidad and Tobago are included in the visa national list and can no longer apply for an electronic travel authorisation to travel to the UK. They need to apply in advance for a UK visitor visa.
  • A transition period of six weeks is in place, allowing those with confirmed travel bookings to enter the UK as a visitor without a visa until 3pm on April 23, 2025, provided they hold an electronic travel authorisation (ETA).
  • Trinidad and Tobago nationals will be required to obtain a direct airside transit visa when transiting the UK airside, unless exceptions apply.

Changes to Skilled Worker visa route

Salary changes

  • The minimum salary for Skilled Workers will increase from £23,200 per year (or £11.90 per hour) to £25,000 per year (or £12.82 per hour).
  • Changes are also being made to going rates for individual occupations in healthcare and education.
  • Changes are made to the rules concerning deductions from an applicant’s salary to ensure consistency with paid allowances and mitigate against sponsorship costs being passed on to applicants.
  • Where applicants rely on a ‘new entrant’ salary reduction, a change has been made to confirm they must rely on a UK qualification.

Protection of care workers

  • Sponsors of care workers and senior care workers must have made attempts to recruit from the existing pool of overseas workers in the UK seeking new employment before sponsoring new recruits from other immigration routes or from overseas.

Ukraine schemes

  • A new requirement has been added to state that parents joined by a child from April 9, 2025 must be lawfully resident in the UK. In addition, stepparent will be removed from the definition of ‘parent’ in the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

  • Changes taking place on April 9, 2025 will allow non-EEA applicants to the EUSS to use a UK-issued biometric residence card or permit that has expired by up to 18 months as proof of their identity and nationality. Where the applicant uses a biometric residence card, they are not required to re-enrol their biometrics again.
  • Individuals who became EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens after the end of the transition period cannot sponsor an EUSS family permit application.
  • Where the applicant has a pending administrative review of an EUSS decision (and they have not left the UK or have been granted entry into the UK), they will not be removed from the UK.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme

  • Trinidad and Tobago nationals have been removed from the ETA scheme.
  • Effective from April 2, 2025, children visiting the UK as part of a French school group will not need to apply for an ETA.
  • From April 9, 2025, British Nationals (Overseas) will be removed from the list of nationalities requiring an ETA.

Appendix Child Student and Appendix Student

  • The UKVI has introduced various safeguarding-related provisions to Child Student rules, which includes new references for nominated guardians, and new eligibility requirements and living arrangement categories.

Administrative Review rules

  • The UKVI has included in-country cases in the free process, where there is an error in the conditions or time period in a grant permission. This process already covers out-of-country applications.

Appendix Short-Term Study (English Language)

  • UKVI has added a ‘genuine intention to study’ requirement to Appendix Short-Term Student.

Please reach out to your Newland Chase dedicated contact or submit an inquiry should you have any specific questions regarding this announcement. 

This immigration update is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal or scenario-specific advice. Furthermore, it is important to note that immigration announcements are subject to sudden and unexpected changes. Readers are encouraged to reach out to Newland Chase for any case- or company-specific assessments.