Statement of changes: what else you need to know

Last week, the Home Office’s latest Statement of Changes made a series of amendments to the current immigration rules. As has been widely reported previously, doctors and nurses have now been taken out of the annual limit on visas for skilled non-EU workers. Other reforms will come into effect on 6 July. They include those detailed below.

RETURNING RESIDENTS

The new rules make a clear delineation between those who have been absent for under two years, and those who have been absent for longer.

The latter must prove they still have strong ties to the UK and plan to make the UK their permanent home. Previously, the returning resident had to show ‘that they had lived here most of their life’.

ABSENCES FOR ‘INDEFINITE LEAVE TO REMAIN’ APPLICANTS

The term ‘continuous residence’ has now been clarified. The rule used to apply to an applicant who had had absences of 180 days of more in 12 months over the five qualifying years. It will now be seen as ‘180 days within any 12-month period’. It does not affect those applicants whose absences occurred prior to the rule change of 11 January.

TIER 1 EXCEPTIONAL TALENT

This category now incorporates talented people within the fashion industry who have had their application assessed by the British Fashion Council, and a wider pool of those working within TV and film, whose application will be looked at by Arts Council England.

Other alterations include:

• changes to the rights of unaccompanied refugee children who qualify under
  the ‘Dubs amendment’
• a new category for Turkish workers and their dependants who previously could not apply for indefinite leave to remain
• the right for Afghan citizens who had been ‘locally engaged’ in UK military campaigns to be allowed to come to the UK with their immediate family members, free of charge.