The Home Office has laid a wide package of reforms spanning work and study migration, visit policy and structural route tweaks as part of its Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 1333) published on 14 October 2025.
Two headline items for most organisations are the higher English-language requirement for key economic routes and the shortening of the Graduate route. The government has also confirmed a 32% Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) uplift proceeding via separate legislation. We set out below what’s changing and when each measure starts.
Key changes at a glance
English-language threshold
The Rules raise the English requirement from CEFR B1 to B2 (A-level equivalent) for initial applications in Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual (HPI) and Scale-up routes from 8 January 2026. Importantly, applicants extending on the same route remain assessed at the level originally required (for example, a Skilled Worker extending or making a change of employment application stays at B1).
If you have new Skilled Worker hires planned for early 2026 who may struggle to evidence B2 by January, consider whether to bring forward those new applications into 2025 where this aligns with workforce planning. Where your pipeline suggests risk against B2, factor in targeted test preparation or short lead-in English training as needed.
Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)
The government has announced a 32% rise to the ISC (paid by sponsors for Skilled Worker/GBM), with the parliamentary process beginning this week. This uplift will be made by separate legislation, not the Immigration Rules. Until those regulations are in force, current ISC rates continue; we’ll update once the commencement date is confirmed.
Graduate route
The Graduate Route allows eligible international graduates to remain in the UK to work or look for work after completing a UK degree (currently 2 years, or 3 years for PhDs). The government will reduce the standard grant to 18 months (PhDs remain 3 years) for applications submitted on or after 1 January 2027. Sponsors relying on the current two-year window to bridge into sponsored roles should remap graduate pipelines and conversion points ahead of that date.
High Potential Individual (HPI)
The HPI Route offers unsponsored work permission for recent graduates of leading global universities. Eligibility will double from “top 50” to “top 100” international universities, and an annual cap of 8,000 applications will apply from 4 November 2025. Employers should expect stronger demand during peak graduate cycles.
Botswana & Palestine
With immediate effect from 3pm BST on 14 October 2025, nationals of Botswana require a visit visa and ETA access is withdrawn. A six-week transition protects travellers with confirmed bookings made before the announcement (up to 3pm GMT on 25 November 2025), and Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV) rules will be aligned to prevent circumvention. Separately, following the UK’s recognition of the State of Palestine, Palestine will be added to the Visa National List on 11 November 2025.
Student/Innovator Founder
Students who have completed their course will be able to establish a business and switch into Innovator Founder (reviving the functionality of the now-closed Start-up switch) from 25 November 2025.
If you’d like tailored advice on navigating these changes and their impact on your organisation, please contact our business immigration team.
The information on this site about legal matters is provided as a general guide only. Although we try to ensure that all of the information on this site is accurate and up to date, this cannot be guaranteed. The information on this site should not be relied upon or construed as constituting legal advice and Howes Percival LLP disclaims liability in relation to its use. You should seek appropriate legal advice before taking or refraining from taking any action.
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