TL;DR: On 5 March 2026 the Home Office laid before Parliament a Statement of Changes in the Immigration Rules referenced as HC 1691. The accompanying accessible explanatory memorandum was published on 6 March 2026 on GOV.UK. The instrument covers a wide range of routes — including a temporary Visa Brake on certain Student and Skilled Worker applications, visitor and Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) adjustments for Nicaragua and St Lucia, further changes to the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, and amendments across work, protection, and settlement-related appendices. Commencement is staggered: some visitor-related provisions are expressed as taking effect at 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026, with further provisions described in official materials as taking effect from 26 March 2026 and 8 April 2026 depending on the subject matter.
The Home Office publishes Statements of Changes to keep the Immigration Rules aligned with legislation, international commitments, and operational policy. HC 1691 is presented as a single package amending multiple appendices and cross-cutting parts of the Rules. The authoritative text is the statement of changes and explanatory memorandum published alongside it on GOV.UK.
Visa Brake: Student and Skilled Worker entry clearance
According to the explanatory memorandum published with HC 1691, the government is introducing a time-limited Visa Brake affecting certain entry clearance applications.
The memorandum states that Student visa applications from main applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan will be refused, and Skilled Worker visa applications from main applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan will be refused, with the policy expressed as taking effect from 26 March 2026, and not affecting applications made before that date.
The same policy narrative in the memorandum describes the brake as subject to review, rather than being presented as a permanent feature of the Rules.
Protection leave duration and related asylum process changes
The memorandum describes a reduction in the duration of refugee and humanitarian protection permission for many adults and families, expressed as a move from five years to 30 months for claims made on or after a specified policy date tied to ministerial announcements in March 2026, with carve-outs described for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and transitional protection for some individuals who claimed on or before 1 March 2026.
Separate memorandum sections describe further submissions by failed asylum seekers being placed on a statutory footing (including in-person requirements at a Service and Support Centre) and provisions on implicit withdrawal of further submissions in defined circumstances.
Nicaragua and St Lucia: visit visa requirement and ETA eligibility
The memorandum states that nationals of Nicaragua and St Lucia will require a visit visa before travelling to the UK for visits, and that both countries will be removed from the list of nationalities eligible to apply for an ETA.
For the visit-visa-related changes, the memorandum states commencement at 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026. It also describes a six-week transition for some travellers with confirmed bookings and an ETA, expressed as ending at 15:00 BST on 16 April 2026, and states that new ETA applications for those nationalities close at 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026.
Linked changes described in the memorandum include direct airside transit visa requirements to avoid circumvention of the visit visa policy.
Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme
The memorandum records a further extension of the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme, including a 24‑month extension pathway described in connection with earlier ministerial announcements, and an increase in how early eligible individuals may apply — expressed as moving from 28 to 90 days before permission expires.
Work and business routes highlighted in the memorandum
The memorandum lists several economic-route adjustments, including (non-exhaustively):
- Global Business Mobility – Secondment Worker: reduction of the qualifying overseas employment period from 12 to 6 months.
- Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier: provisions described as implementing UK–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement commitments once in force.
- Skilled Worker – prison officers: time-limited arrangements described for salary thresholds, certificate of sponsorship duration, and dependants, including end dates expressed in the memorandum as 31 December 2026 and 31 December 2027 for different elements.
- Skilled Worker – salary paid in each pay period: a distinct change described as taking effect on 8 April 2026 (see Skilled Worker route: salary must meet thresholds in each pay period from 8 April 2026 for sponsor-focused reporting).
Settlement-stage English language (B2) — commencement in 2027
The memorandum states that English language requirements for settlement will move to B2 CEFR for a listed set of appendices, with an expressed coming into force date of 26 March 2027, described as allowing time for individuals already on settlement pathways to meet the higher standard.
Global Talent, identity reuse, EU Settlement Scheme, and other amendments
HC 1691’s memorandum also summarises:
- A Global Talent design pathway expansion and simplifications to certain appointments fast track criteria.
- Identity reuse changes framed around Rule 34(5)(a) and use of the GIDV app in defined circumstances.
- Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit) adjustments, including additional validity evidence requirements for family permits.
- Youth Mobility Scheme quota updates for 2026.
- Appendix Hong Kong BN(O) eligibility expansions described for certain adult children (terminology in the memorandum uses 1 July 1997 as the reference date for childhood status).
- Part Suitability criminality changes described as aligning with Sentencing Act 2026 reforms concerning suspended sentences of 12 months or more for UK convictions.
How commencement is expressed officially
The memorandum’s legislative section states that the Nicaragua and St Lucia visa-national changes come into effect at 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026, and that other changes take effect on various dates from 26 March 2026, with further detail in the implementation section of the statement of changes itself.
Readers reviewing eligibility for a specific route should rely on the consolidated Immigration Rules and the HC 1691 statement text as published on GOV.UK, because application dates determine which rule version applies to a given case.
Official sources
The primary GOV.UK landing page for the instrument (including attachments) is:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc-1619-5-march-2026
Note: the publication URL path contains “hc-1619” while the document title and command paper reference use HC 1691; this is the URL returned by GOV.UK for the 5 March 2026 statement.