On 26 March 2026, the Home Office laid Statement of Changes HC 1691 before Parliament. The Statement updates the Immigration Rules across the family, settlement, citizenship and Skilled Worker routes, with different implementation dates applying to different provisions. An application that misses an implementation date by one day may be decided under different rules. This post provides an overview of HC 1691 for a UK family, settlement, citizenship or Skilled Worker visa applicant.
What is HC 1691?
HC 1691 is a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules laid before Parliament by the Home Office on 26 March 2026. A Statement of Changes is the legal instrument that updates the Immigration Rules. Each Statement is referred to by its House of Commons paper number, which is the “HC” reference.
The Immigration Rules sit under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and govern how applications for entry clearance, leave to enter, leave to remain, settlement and citizenship are decided. Where a Statement of Changes amends an appendix, the amended version applies from the implementation date set out in the Statement.
The B1 to B2 English language uplift at settlement (from 26 March 2027)
From 26 March 2027, the English language requirement at settlement steps up from B1 to B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference. The new level applies across the family route, the 10-year Long Residence route, naturalisation, and the Skilled Worker route. Applications made before 26 March 2027 continue to require B1.
The uplift is delivered through coordinated changes across five appendices: Appendix Long Residence, Appendix Settlement Family Life, Appendix KoLL, Appendix English Language and Appendix Skilled Worker. The new B2 standard must be evidenced through an approved Secure English Language Test in speaking and listening, or through one of the codified exemptions in Appendix English Language. A B1 certificate that is within validity remains acceptable for any application submitted before 26 March 2027.
If you are approaching settlement in the next 12 months, the practical question is whether to submit before 26 March 2027 under B1 or to plan for B2. If your test certificate is at B1 and within validity, you can rely on it for any submission before 26 March 2027. If you have not yet taken a test and your submission falls after that date, take a B2 test. For naturalisation applicants relying on the KoLL framework, the same dates and standards apply, and the Life in the UK Test continues to be required alongside the language qualification.
To discuss whether to submit your settlement application before or after 26 March 2027, contact our immigration team on 0208 757 5751 or use our Contact Form to get in touch.
The Part Suitability change — suspended sentences
From 26 March 2026, a suspended sentence is treated under the same discretionary criminality grounds as an immediate custodial sentence. The change applies across every application route, including spouse, family, settlement, naturalisation and Skilled Worker. Before the change, applicants with a suspended sentence were assessed under a different and less restrictive set of suitability rules.
The amendment inserts “or suspended” after “custodial” at SUI 5.1(a) to SUI 5.5(a) of Part Suitability. Part Suitability sits over every route in the Immigration Rules and sets the suitability tests that apply at each application stage. The amendment closes the gap between suspended and custodial sentences under the discretionary criminality grounds. There is no transitional protection for applicants whose suspended sentences pre-date the change.
If you have a suspended sentence on your record and are preparing any application, the suitability assessment under the amended SUI 5 wording should be checked carefully before the application is submitted. An application that does not address the suitability framework as it now stands may be refused.
What HC 1691 means for Spouse and FLR(M) applications
HC 1691 does not change the substantive rules on the Spouse Visa or the FLR(M) extension. The £29,000 minimum income requirement, the relationship-evidence framework, the dependent-child uplifts of £3,800 for the first child and £2,400 for each additional child, and the prescribed-form requirement for income evidence at Appendix FM-SE all remain as they stood before 26 March 2026.
For Spouse Visa and FLR(M) applicants, the operative effects of HC 1691 arrive at the settlement stage and on suitability. If your path leads to settlement on or after 26 March 2027, plan for the B2 English requirement at the ILR stage rather than B1. If you have a suspended sentence on record, the Part Suitability change applies to your application from 26 March 2026.
What HC 1691 means for the 10-year Long Residence route
HC 1691 makes one change to Appendix Long Residence. Paragraph LR13.1 is substituted to introduce the B1 to B2 English language uplift for settlement on the 10-year route, with effect from 26 March 2027. Applications for ILR under Long Residence made before that date continue to require B1.
The continuous-residence rules on Appendix Long Residence are not amended. The 184-day single-absence ceiling and the 548-day cap on total absences across the 10-year qualifying period both remain in force as they stood before 26 March 2026. The qualifying-period definition and the breaks-of-continuity rules are unchanged.
For applicants approaching the 10-year point, the practical question is the language certificate. If a current B1 certificate is held and is within validity at the planned submission date, B1 remains the operative level for submissions made before 26 March 2027. For submissions on or after that date, take a B2 test. Our 10-year Long Residence ILR guide sets out the substantive framework for the route.
What HC 1691 means for Skilled Worker applications
HC 1691 makes three changes to the Skilled Worker route. The general salary thresholds, going-rate floors and tradeable-points architecture introduced by the July 2025 and January 2026 cycles are not amended. The changes that bite concern how salary is paid, what English level applies at settlement, and a new nationality bar at entry clearance.
From 8 April 2026, a new payment-mechanics rule at SW 14.3B requires salary in each pay period to equal or exceed the going rate for hours worked. Over rolling reference periods of three months or twelve weeks (or seventeen weeks for variable patterns), pay must reach the required proportional fraction of the annual salary. The rule closes loopholes around back-loaded or front-loaded pay. Sponsors must confirm any variable pay patterns and any pay drops attributable to the permitted subtractions at SW 14.2(a).
From 26 March 2027, a new English language requirement at settlement applies under SW 22A. Settlement applications made on or after that date require B2 in speaking and listening. The entry-stage English requirement at SW 44.1 also steps up from B1 to B2 on the same date. This is the first time settlement on the Skilled Worker route carries a discrete English requirement at the ILR stage.
From 26 March 2026, SW 3.3 introduces a hard nationality bar at entry clearance: a national or citizen of Afghanistan cannot apply for entry clearance as a Skilled Worker.
If you are mid-cycle on the Skilled Worker visa, the substantive framework continues to apply. The new payment-mechanics rule should be discussed with your sponsor before any pay-period adjustment is made from 8 April 2026 onwards. For applicants approaching the ILR Skilled Worker stage, the new B2 English requirement applies to submissions on or after 26 March 2027.
To discuss your Skilled Worker application or your ILR planning under the new framework, contact our immigration team on 0208 757 5751 or use our Contact Form to get in touch.
What HC 1691 did not change
The £29,000 minimum income requirement on the Spouse Visa and the FLR(M) extension is unchanged. The financial-evidence framework at Appendix FM-SE is unchanged on substance, including the prescribed-form requirement for income and the categorisation of income at Categories A, B, F and G. The dependent-child uplifts of £3,800 for the first child and £2,400 for each additional child are unchanged.
The 184-day single-absence ceiling and the 548-day total-absence cap on the 10-year Long Residence route are unchanged. The 5-year qualifying period for Spouse Visa ILR, the 5-year qualifying period for Skilled Worker ILR, and the 10-year qualifying period for Long Residence ILR are unchanged. The Skilled Worker standard salary threshold introduced in the January 2026 cycle is unchanged.
The Life in the UK Test continues to be required at the same stages. The B1 to B2 uplift applies to the English language qualification under KoLL and Appendix English Language, not to the Life in the UK Test itself.
How Whytecroft Ford can help
The Whytecroft Ford Immigration Team advises on how the current Immigration Rules apply to their specific circumstances. Whytecroft Ford is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority at registration F201900075.
To discuss your application with our team, contact us on 0208 757 5751 or use our Contact Form to get in touch.
Sources
- Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1691, 26 March 2026 — GOV.UK
- Immigration Rules: Appendix English Language — GOV.UK
Written and reviewed by Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team, authorised and regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, registration number F201900075. All guidance is researched against primary sources, including the Immigration Rules and Home Office guidance at GOV.UK. Reviewed every six months, or sooner following a relevant rule change. Last reviewed: 4 June 2026.
