News and updates | Wesley Gryk Solicitors LLP

Indefinite leave for the children of settled people

5th February 2026 By Leah Cowling

Families applying for immigration permission in the UK will be familiar with the ways in which the Immigration Rules can leave children in uncertain situations. This has been particularly true for children in families where one parent is British or settled and the other has limited leave to remain.

The Home Office’s approach has been that, unless an exception applies, a child should only be granted indefinite leave where both parents have or are being granted settlement. This has meant, for example, that where one parent has been granted leave as a partner under Appendix FM, any non-British children will be granted limited leave in line with that parent, rather than indefinite leave. Children then apply with the non-settled parent for further limited leave and eventually indefinite leave, at significant cost.

A recent Court of Appeal case (R (Kone) v SSHD [2025] EWCA Civ 1653), potentially opens an opportunity for children to apply for indefinite leave much sooner where one parent is British or settled and the other has limited leave. This is on the basis of the Court’s interpretation of a rule which provides that indefinite leave to enter may be granted to a child where:

“one parent or a relative is present and settled in the United Kingdom or being admitted on the same occasion for settlement and there are serious and compelling family or other considerations which make exclusion of the child undesirable and suitable arrangements have been made for the child’s care”

The Court of Appeal held that a child may qualify for indefinite leave to enter under this provision if one parent is settled in the UK and the other has limited leave, provided the child met the other requirements of the rule.

This judgment marks a significant departure from long-standing Home Office practice and strengthens the position of children in mixed status families. As a result, more children may now be eligible for immediate settlement, provided that they can show that there are “serious and compelling family or other considerations which make exclusion of the child undesirable”.

This case has the potential to have a positive impact on some children and young people, particularly teenagers who might otherwise turn 18 before obtaining settlement. However, we understand that the Home Office is seeking to appeal this decision and there is also a risk that the Immigration Rules themselves will be changed to prevent people benefitting from the Court of Appeal judgment.

Every family’s situation is unique. If you would like expert legal advice to establish whether your family might be able to benefit from this judgment, please do not hesitate to contact us at enquiries@gryklaw.com or on 020 7401 6887.

Visa vignettes/stickers when applying to come to the UK from overseas

15th January 2026 By Caroline Asken

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are developing a digital immigration system. They are replacing physical documents with a digital record of applicants’ identity and immigration status. This is known as an eVisa.

Who can access an eVisa

You can usually access an eVisa if you have any visa which allows you to be in the UK for more than 6 months. Throughout 2025, eVisas began to replace visa vignettes/stickers for increasing numbers of applicants and their dependants, who will not have received any physical document to confirm their immigration status.

UKVI guidance now states that, as of 12 January 2026, most people granted a visit visa, and visas for 6 months or less such as some study, work, transit, and family visas, will get an eVisa as well as a visa vignette/sticker.

How to know whether you can expect to be issued an eVisa

You can expect not to receive a visa vignette/sticker if you use the ‘ID Immigration Check App’ to set up your immigration application form (please note the App is not available for all immigration routes). If you make an immigration application using an online form and attend an appointment to provide your biometrics, your VFS Global appointment confirmation letter should confirm whether you will require an eVisa (rather than a visa vignette/sticker) to travel to the UK, by stating ‘Visa Type: eVisa’.

You’ll usually be told by UKVI if you can access an eVisa when you get your visa decision.

eVisas will replace all visa vignettes/stickers in 2026

UKVI plans to stop issuing visa vignettes/stickers in 2026. All successful visa applicants will only get an eVisa.

Important things to note about eVisas

If you do not receive a visa vignette/sticker, it is important that you access your eVisa at the earliest opportunity after receiving a decision, and have access to it before travelling to the UK.

1. Prior to travelling to the UK, you must ensure your eVisa is connected to your current passport. You can check the identity document connected to your eVisa using this link (it should be the document included in your visa application). If you obtain a new passport, you must use the same link to update your UKVI account and ensure your current passport is connected to your eVisa, to avoid any potential issues when travelling. Current Home Office guidance suggests you should also obtain a share code via your UKVI account before travelling to the UK as your carrier of a border official may ask for it.

2. If you experience any issues with accessing your eVisa, you can raise the issue with the UKVI webchat. The Home Office have published support videos with instructions about accessing an eVisa here.

3. You should check your eVisa shows the correct details. If there are errors, you can report an error with your eVisa.

4. Your eVisa details must match the passenger information you give to your carrier.

5. If your partner and children are joining you in the UK as ‘dependants,’ they need their own UKVI accounts to access their eVisas.

Please note an eVisa is different from an electronic travel authorisation (ETA). An ETA allows people who do not need a visa to travel to the UK for up to 6 months. You can view our previous blog post, for information about ETAs.

Upcoming Changes to the Graduate Route – October 2025 Update

13th November 2025 By Jennifer Aitken

The October 2025 Statement of Changes introduced several updates across the UK’s immigration system, including significant amendments to the Graduate route. These changes form part of the Government’s wider review of post-study work options.

Following our earlier article, Staying in the UK: Legal Pathways for International Students, we outline below what is changing and how it may affect those planning to remain in the UK after their studies.

The Current Graduate Route

At present, the Graduate route allows international students who have completed a UK bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree to stay in the UK to work or look for work without employer sponsorship.

This flexibility has made the Graduate route a popular post-study immigration option, particularly for those wishing to gain UK work experience before switching into a sponsored visa category such as the Skilled Worker route.

Changes to the Graduate Route

The Home Office has announced upcoming changes to the Graduate route. The announcement has been made well in advance and will apply to applications submitted on or after 1 January 2027.

Under the new rules, graduates will see their post-study permission to stay in the UK reduced from two years to 18 months. PhD graduates will continue to benefit from a longer post-study period and will remain eligible to stay in the UK for three years after completing their studies.

What This Means for International Graduates

The reduction of the Graduate visa period represents a significant tightening of post-study work rights, and it is likely to influence how international students plan their studies and careers in the UK.

The period before graduates need to consider their immigration status has been shortened, meaning that those who wish to continue living in the UK will need to plan their next steps more swiftly. If they intend to move onto another immigration status, they will need to consider early on what options might be available to them.

If you would like to discuss your post-study visa options, we would be happy to help. Please contact us on 020 7401 6887 or by email at contact@gryklaw.com.

Indefinite Leave to Remain: What Do the Reform UK and Labour Party Proposals Mean?

13th October 2025 By Andrew Jones

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) has been in the news recently, with both Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and the Labour Party making announcements on the issue at their party conferences.

Many migrants in the UK are confused and concerned. So, what have they said, and what does it actually mean?

Reform UK announcement

Reform UK announced that it would abolish ILR and require all migrants (even those previously granted ILR) to apply for renewable five-year visas, which would only be available to those on high salaries who meet other strict criteria. The stated intention of this policy would be to force many who currently have ILR to leave the UK on the basis that they would not meet the new visa criteria. This proposal would not apply to anyone with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

What does this mean?

It is important to stress that Reform UK are not in government and, at least at this time, do not have the power to change the law. This is simply a political statement of a policy Reform UK says that it would implement if they became the government. This could only happen after a general election, which is not likely to take place for several years. Although Reform UK are leading in many polls at the moment, it is impossible to predict the result of the next election.

Therefore, despite the widespread coverage of this announcement, it does not represent a change in the law.

Labour Party announcement

At the Labour Party conference, the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced plans to require all migrants to complete a qualifying period of 10 years’ residence before being eligible for ILR. This follows on from the government’s ‘immigration white paper’, which indicated something similar, but also stated that some migrants will remain eligible for ILR after five years in certain circumstances. ILR applicants would need to demonstrate that they can speak English to a high standard, have a clean criminal record and have made a contribution to their community before they would be eligible. These proposals will be put to a consultation shortly before the government announces any changes.

What does this mean?

This announcement should be taken more seriously. The Labour Party are the government and can change immigration laws. However, there is a lot of ambiguity in this announcement.

Firstly, the announcement was very broad, and failed to note that there are many different visa routes with their own timescales and requirements for ILR. Many migrants are already on a 10-year route to indefinite leave to remain, or indeed on visas which do not lead to indefinite leave to remain at all. The government’s white paper earlier this year, indicated that this change would not impact those who are in the UK on visas as the partner of a British or settled person. We do not know if that has changed. Furthermore, that White Paper identified the Global Talent visa route as one the government intended to promote, which may imply that it would be exempt from any changes to the ILR rules. It is also unclear whether the change impacts those already in the UK on a five-year route to ILR. Previous government releases indicated that it would, but other reports suggest otherwise.

This latest announcement did not clarify whether there would still be an accelerated five-year route to ILR under any new rules and, if so, what the criteria for that would be.

Those who are applying for ILR already need to prove their English aptitude and can be refused on grounds of criminality. We do not know what, if any, changes are being made to those aspects of the rules.

Conclusion

In summary, there has been a lot of talk about ILR recently, but very little concrete detail. The proposals are being put to a consultation, and so nothing is likely to change in the immediate future.

This makes it difficult to predict what people’s pathways to ILR will look like in 12 months’ time. All we can recommend at this stage to anyone concerned about this is to pay attention to any future government announcements.

We would recommend taking specialist legal advice before making any significant changes to your personal circumstances in light of these announcements.

Until and unless any Immigration Rules change, migrants remain eligible for ILR under the existing rules. That date is often sooner than many people realise, as applicants may be able to rely upon time spent on different visas routes or time waiting for a decision on a visa application. Those with ILR may also be eligible to naturalise as British citizens, which is the most secure immigration status one can have. We regularly assist with applications for ILR and British citizenship, so please do not hesitate to get in contact if you need any assistance.

Staying in the UK: Legal Pathways for International Students

16th September 2025 By Alison Hunter

The Home Office has recently raised concerns about the number of students claiming asylum at the end of their student visas.

From January to June 2025, around 14,800 asylum applications were made by students, accounting for 13% of all claims. In response, the Home Office launched a campaign warning students and their families about the consequences of overstaying visas or submitting meritless asylum claims, including sending out text messages to those coming to the end of their student visas.

However, it’s important to know that there are still lawful ways for international students to remain in the UK after their studies.

Graduate Visa: Your First Step

After completing your course, students can apply for a Graduate visa, which currently allows you to stay and work in the UK for up to two years if you have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. If you have a doctoral qualification, you can stay for up to three years. (The Home Office has recently announced that this period will be reduced to 18 months but has not stated when this change will take place, nor whether this will apply to doctoral students as well). During this period on a graduate, you could consider seeking employment with a licensed sponsor to then allow you to transition to a Skilled Worker visa.

Skilled Worker Visa: Building Your Career

The Skilled Worker visa is a great option for those who find employment with a licensed sponsor. This visa offers long-term options for settlement and professional development in the UK. However, it is important to talk early to any potential employer about sponsorship as it entails significant costs and administrative burdens for the employer.

Global Talent Visa: For the Exceptionally Talented

If you have demonstrated exceptional achievement in fields like science, engineering, humanities, medicine, digital technology, or the arts, the Global Talent visa could be your pathway. This route does not require a job offer and provides greater flexibility for building a career in the UK.

Seek Legal Advice

Given the complexities of obtaining immigration status after being a student, you may well find it beneficial to seek legal advice to navigate the UK immigration system, not only to solve your immediate immigration situation, but also to plan longer term for the future. Despite the unwelcoming rhetoric from the government in relation to students at the moment, it is likely that there will also be pathways for students to work in the United Kingdom after their studies. We can guide you on the best visa options, help prepare necessary documentation, and ensure compliance with Home Office regulations.

For further advice, contact us at 020 7401 6887 or email contact@gryklaw.com.