UK Immigration Rules: 2025 Changes
Who Is Affected by the March 2025 Changes?
The UK’s March 2025 immigration updates affect a broad group of people: visitors, students, workers, and families already in the country.
If you’re planning to visit the UK from Trinidad and Tobago, you’ll now need a visa. If you’re in the UK under the Ukraine Scheme, new conditions may affect your right to stay.
Care workers and their sponsors face updated salary thresholds. Short-term English language students will need to prove their intentions more clearly.
This article explains the key changes and helps you understand what steps you’ll need to take to stay compliant.
Visa Required for Trinidad and Tobago Nationals
From 12 March 2025, nationals of Trinidad and Tobago will need a visa to visit the UK. You can no longer enter with an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). This change follows a rise in asylum claims from citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Many of these were made at the UK border, increasing pressure on immigration staff and resources.
If you’re from Trinidad and Tobago, you’ll need to apply for a standard visitor visa before travelling. ETA applications are now closed to Trinidad and Tobago nationals.
Changes to Ukraine Schemes: Key Updates
Extending Permission to Stay
The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPE), introduced in February 2025, now covers more children who entered the UK outside the usual routes. This helps these children continue living legally with their parents. To be eligible, the child must already be in the UK and have received permission to enter before the rules allowed them to join parents with Homes for Ukraine status.
Homes for Ukraine: Sponsor Rules Now Consistent
If you’re applying under the Homes for Ukraine route, you’ll now need a confirmed sponsor to meet the new entry and eligibility requirements. The definition of ‘parent’ has also changed. Step-parents are no longer included, to bring this scheme in line with broader immigration policy.
In addition, the temporary option of switching from a travel permission letter to a residence permit after arrival in the UK has ended. All new arrivals will now need to apply for entry clearance before travelling.
Updates to the EU Settlement Scheme
If you’re part of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), several changes now apply. You can use a biometric residence card that has expired by up to 18 months as proof of identity. If you do, you won’t need to provide new fingerprints.
If you’ve requested an administrative review and you’ve not left the UK, the Home Office will not remove you while that review is pending.
You can no longer sponsor an EUSS family permit if you only became an EU citizen after Brexit.
Suitability checks are also tighter now. If you’ve been involved in conduct that breaches public policy or public security (before Brexit), your application could be refused even without a deportation order.
New Rules for Short-Term English Students
If you’re planning a short English course in the UK, you’ll need to meet new requirements. You have to show that:
- You genuinely plan to study the course you’ve been accepted onto
- You’re not using the course as a route to settle in the UK
- You have enough money to support yourself and won’t work during your stay
To prove your intention, it helps to include a letter of acceptance from your school, evidence of payment or deposits for your course and proof that you’ve arranged accommodation. Bank statements should show you have funds to cover your living costs without working.
The Home Office now expects stronger, clearer evidence from short-term English language students.
Skilled Worker Visa: Updates for Care Workers
If you’re applying as a care worker or senior care worker, or you’re an employer sponsoring someone for these roles in England, the rules are changing from 9 April 2025.
There are two key updates to be aware of:
-
Salary Threshold Increase
The minimum salary floor is rising. From 9 April 2025, care workers and senior care workers will need to be paid at least £25,000 per year (or £12.82 per hour). This is an increase from the previous threshold of £23,200 per year (or £11.90 per hour), which was set in April 2024.
This new rate is designed to stay well above the National Living Wage, which is also going up in April 2025. Going rates for care roles that are based on national pay scales have also been updated.
-
New Local Recruitment Requirement
If you’re an employer in England and want to sponsor a care worker from overseas, you’ll now need to try recruiting from the existing pool of care workers already in the UK who have lost sponsorship.
Before offering a certificate of sponsorship to a new overseas recruit, you’ll have to show that:
- You’ve tried to recruit locally, including from this pool of displaced care workers.
- You’ve received written confirmation from your regional or sub-regional adult social care partnership that there were no suitable UK-based candidates available.
This new rule only applies to care jobs with work locations entirely in England. It does not apply to:
- Jobs based in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
- Workers in England who were already sponsored before the changes take effect
- Applicants switching into these roles after working lawfully for the same sponsor for at least three months
-
Salary Deduction Restrictions
Employers cannot reduce the worker’s salary below the required threshold by deducting things like accommodation or sponsorship-related costs — unless this is specifically allowed by law. This change closes loopholes that previously allowed applicants to subsidise their own pay by investing in their sponsor’s business or covering expenses that should be the employer’s responsibility.
These updates are part of the Home Office’s plan to protect migrant workers, prevent exploitation, and ensure that the care sector in England is staffed by fairly paid and lawfully sponsored professionals.
Permit Free Festivals: Updated List
If you’re an artist or performer coming to the UK, the updated Permit Free Festival list for 2025 may help. Performers at these events can now receive payment without needing a work visa.
The list includes major festivals like Glastonbury, Boomtown, Wireless, Latitude, and Reading, among others. New names are added each year, so it’s worth checking the current list before making travel or performance plans.
You’ll still need the correct visa to enter the UK, but for these events, no work visa is required to be paid.
Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) Updates
There are two main ETA changes.
First, children under 18 who study in France can now travel to the UK as part of an organised school trip without needing an ETA — but only if they travel in a group of five or more.
Second, British Nationals (Overseas) are now exempt from the ETA requirement. This is especially relevant for people living in Hong Kong with this status.
These changes simplify travel for thousands of people and reduce administrative delays.
Safeguarding and Child Student Visas
Children applying to study in the UK under the Child Student visa route now face stricter safeguarding checks.
If a child will be living with a nominated guardian, that person must:
- Be a British citizen or have settled status
- Have no serious criminal convictions
- Not live with anyone who has a serious criminal record
The Home Office will refuse the child’s application if the nominated guardian or anyone in their household has received a prison sentence of 12 months or more. Convictions may also result in refusal, depending on the circumstances.
These updates are designed to protect young international students and give peace of mind to their families.
Administrative Reviews: Stricter Validity Rules
If your visa application is refused and you plan to challenge the decision, be aware of new rules for administrative reviews.
You can no longer:
- Apply for a review from outside the UK if your application was made while you were in the UK
- Submit a review of a decision if you’ve already made a new application since that decision
These changes aim to reduce delays and stop people from submitting multiple overlapping applications, which can slow down the decision-making process for everyone.
What These Changes Mean for You
The March 2025 updates to UK Immigration Rules will affect thousands of people in different ways from visitors and students to care workers, families, and performing artists.
If you’re planning to visit, live, work, or study in the UK, make sure you understand the new requirements that apply to your situation. Some rules are now stricter, and others follow clearer, more straightforward procedures.
By staying informed and preparing your application carefully, you’ll improve your chances of success and avoid unnecessary delays or refusals.