New Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules amends graduate route, Appendix FM and Part 8 family provisions

The Home Office has today published a new Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 259), making amendments across a range of immigration routes and provisions.

All materials can be accessed from here on GOV.UK. The 39-page statement can be downloaded here. The accompanying 10-page explanatory memorandum can be downloaded here. As of yet, no ministerial statement has been made about the changes.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the main changes include:

• Appendix Graduate: allows a child born in the UK during a parent's Graduate route permission to apply as a dependant and be granted permission in line with the parent.
• Diplomatic Visa Arrangements: extends the Diplomatic Visa Arrangement visitor visa to eligible Indian diplomatic passport holders.
• Part 8 children provisions: aligns the rules for children joining relatives in the UK with the approach under Appendix Child Relative.
• Appendix FM partner leave: provides that partners of those with temporary protection status will receive permission in line with the remaining permission of the protection sponsor.
• Suitability requirements: ensures eligible applications under the Exception for Overstayers are not refused solely because the applicant is on Immigration Bail.
• EU Settlement Scheme: removes the fingerprint biometric requirement for EUSS travel permits and clarifies the deadline position for certain family members of qualifying British citizens.
• Care requirement: applies the Appendix Children care requirement to the Appendix FM child route.
• Armed forces provisions: allows certain children of serving personnel exempt from immigration control to be granted permission under the Rules.

The explanatory memorandum says the amendment to Appendix Graduate addresses a gap affecting children born in the UK during a parent's Graduate route permission. Under the current Rules, dependant eligibility on the Graduate route is limited to dependants who already held permission under the Student route. The change allows such UK-born children to apply as dependants and be granted permission in line with their parent, without expanding dependant eligibility from overseas or creating a route to settlement.

Changes to Part 8 amend provisions relating to children joining relatives in the UK. The current requirement for "serious and compelling circumstances" creates a lack of clarity on when a child should join a relative in the UK and is being aligned with the clearer approach under Appendix Child Relative, where a child may join a relative with protection status if they have no parent or other family member who can reasonably care for them.

Changes to Appendix FM address the duration of leave granted to partners of those with temporary protection status. Where a protection sponsor has been granted permission to stay for 30 months, a partner granted permission under Appendix FM will receive permission in line with the remainder of the sponsor's existing grant.

The Appendix FM child route is amended to apply the care requirement in Appendix Children. This is intended to ensure that children's living and care arrangements in the UK are safe, suitable and compliant with UK legislation, and to align safeguarding requirements across routes.

In addition, the explanatory memorandum highlights a number of targeted changes to other areas. These include removing the requirement for fingerprint biometrics for applicants for an EU Settlement Scheme travel permit, clarifying that certain family members of qualifying British citizens may still apply for settled status where their pre-settled status has been varied into another form of immigration permission, and ensuring that applications eligible under the Exception for Overstayers are not refused solely because the applicant is on Immigration Bail.

Changes to armed forces provisions allow children of single serving personnel, where the parent is exempt from immigration control, to be granted permission under the Immigration Rules rather than through discretionary Leave Outside the Rules. The Rules are also amended to clarify that dependants of exempt international service personnel are not automatically eligible to accompany them and must apply for entry clearance.

The changes take effect on 30 July 2026 or 3 August 2026.