UK Immigration and Asylum Bill 2026: Detailed Factsheets Set Out Major Asylum and Returns Reforms

What changed

The UK Home Office has released HC 584, which is a new Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules. This document updates several areas of the UK immigration system. These changes cover how decisions are made about whether someone is suitable to be in the UK and complies with immigration controls, protections for people who are victims of modern slavery, human rights claims made by families going through the Family Returns Process, procedures for waiving fees and enrolling biometrics, victims of domestic abuse, participation in Erasmus+, the EU Settlement Scheme, maintenance funds for the Student Route, routes for religious workers, settlement for Hong Kong BN(O) citizens, Long Residence rules, the Child Relative route, and other technical provisions. A large part of these changes is to help the UK take part in the Erasmus+ programme from 2027. This includes creating specific immigration rules for Erasmus+ study, training, traineeships, job shadowing, sports activities, and related placements. The changes also broaden the Victim of Domestic Abuse route to include adult dependent children. They will let some Skilled Workers who are confirmed victims of modern slavery do a wider range of work. Also, the requirement to pay an application fee will be removed for certain human rights claims made by families in the Family Returns Process. The amount of money students need for living costs — called the maintenance requirement — for the Student Route will also go up. It will increase from £1,529 to £1,570 per month if you're studying in London, and from £1,171 to £1,203 per month if you're studying outside London.

What changed

UK Visas and Immigration has published an updated list of immigration and nationality fees. These new fees start on 8 October 2026. This document, called 'Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 October 2026', states that all application fees for visas and nationality routes will stay the same. This applies whether you apply from inside or outside the UK. This means the fee structure that started on 8 April 2026 will continue to be used.

What changed

The Netherlands has opened a public consultation on a new bill that would make actively frustrating a person's own return from the Netherlands a criminal offence in certain circumstances. Minister for Asylum and Migration Van den Brink presented the proposal on 7 October 2026, and the Ministry of Justice and Security opened the draft law for public consultation on the same day. The consultation will run until 18 November 2026.

What changed

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has extended its special initiative for passport services in the United Kingdom. This programme is set up to help Nigerian citizens in the UK with particular passport processing needs. The extension means this dedicated service will carry on.