There were a number of changes announced in Statement of Changes HC 1333 several of which impact Business Immigration routes. Some of these will not be introduced until early next year and so there is time to make applications before the new Rules make it more difficult.
The Immigration Skills Charge will be increased by 32% in the coming weeks which mean it will rise from £364 to £480.48 a year for small and charitable sponsors and £1,000 to £1,320 a year for medium and large sponsors.
Graduate visas will be reduced in length from 2 years to 18 months for applications made on or after 1 January 2027. Applicants who have completed a PhD will still be able to get a 3 years visa.
There will be a cap of 8,000 applications a year for those applying as a High Potential Individual (HPI) for graduates from the top 100 international universities.
The English language requirement for those on the Skilled Worker, HPI and Scale-up routes will be increased fro B1 Level to B2 Level for those applying for an initial grant of leave on or after 8 January 2026.
