Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Immigration Rules definition

What does Immigration Rules mean? In UK legal practice, the Immigration Rules are the detailed criteria and procedures the Home Office applies to decide entry clearance, leave to enter and leave to remain, including the length of leave and its conditions (e.g., work, study, no recourse to public funds). They regulate those who require leave because they lack the right of abode, and set out the practice to be followed in administering the Immigration Act 1971. Made by the Secretary of State under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971, the Rules are laid before Parliament as House of Commons Papers; amendments are issued as Statements...

Practitioner briefing: HC 1779 UK Immigration Rules changes - Tier 1-5, Tier 4 students, ancestry ILR absences, domestic abuse concession, ATAS, EVW, seasonal workers (effective 10 January 2019)

Published by a LexisNexis Immigration expert

Practice notes

This analysis considers the main changes to the Immigration Rules (the Rules) set out in HC 1779

HC 1779, together with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM), was issued on 11 December 2018. It sets out:

removal of the requirement to provide specified documents for absences over 180 days arising from compelling and compassionate reasons in settlement applications under the Ancestry route
updates to the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route, including:
- an extra four months granted to Entry clearance applicants
- expanding eligibility to include architects
- revisions to the Endorsement qualifying criteria
changes to Tier 2 of the Points-Based System (PBS), including:
- introducing a requirement for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate for Tier 2 (ICT) migrants when studying certain ‘sensitive’ courses
- updating the Rules to refer to Find a Job rather than Universal Jobmatch for the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT)
- setting a salary threshold for nurses or midwives in training who are taking the Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for Nursing and Midwifery Council registration
- broadening the situations in which a migrant may take unpaid leave for four weeks or more to include strike action...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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