The government announced today (29 October), changes to the Immigration Rules. Most of these changes will affect all applications submitted on or after 19 November 2015 unless otherwise stated.

The main changes are:

Asylum
making asylum claims from EU nationals invalid, unless exceptional circumstances apply
clarifying the circumstances in which refugee status will be withdrawn

Settlement
ensuring indefinite leave and naturalisation applicants, who normally rely on an English language qualification, take a secure English language test

The introduction of the £35k minimum earnings threshold for Tier 2 settlement, which will come into force on 6 April 2016
Family/private life providing that a child’s application for entry clearance will be refused where the Secretary of State considers that the sponsor or the sponsor’s partner poses a risk to the child

Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) of the points-based system
amending the endorsement criteria used by Tech City UK, to better reflect the skills and experience of target applicants who are most likely to add value to the UK digital technology sector

Tiers 2 and 5 of the points-based system
adding nurses and four digital technology jobs to the Tier 2 shortage occupation list changes to clarify the charity worker rules for sponsors and applicants. Setting the annual allocation of places available under the youth mobility scheme for 2016
minor amendments to the list of government authorised exchange schemes

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