Student update: further observations about the recent Statement of Changes
March 11, 2026
The government released a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules on 5 March 2026. In our news item, Student update: Student route 'visa brake' announced and two new countries added to Visa National list on 6 March, we alerted you to the key changes that will affect Students.
Here are a couple of other things to note about the statement.
‘Visa brake’ also affects Skilled Worker applicants who are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan
A further ‘visa brake’ has been applied, in this case only to nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, who are applying for entry clearance (applications from outside the UK) under the Skilled Worker route. The visa brake will apply to applications made on or after 26 March 2026. This means nationals or citizens of Afghanistan will not be able to apply for entry clearance under this route on or after this date.
Proving identity as part of an immigration application
From on or after 8 April 2026, an amendment is being made to the proof of identity requirements for all individuals making permission to stay applications in the UK. Instead of being required to provide proof of identity at the point of application, individuals will instead be able to rely on having previously provided proof of identity; meaning, in a past application. This change is helpfully explained, as part of changes regarding ‘identity reuse’, at paragraph 5.57 and 5.58 in the Explanatory Memorandum to the statement. Further details of how someone might benefit from this will be added to application forms.
As before, if you are unsure if any of these changes affect you, or if you need any advice regarding these changes, please contact our Student advice line, or the international student advice team at your institution.
UKCISA members can view the full list of changes, and will also be able to map all these changes, in our UKCISA manual, where we have provided a What’s New update on the home page. As usual, a What's New update will indicate which parts of the manual are scheduled to change in light of this statement.
