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UK visas in 2026 – which route lets you live here, from Skilled Worker to Graduate and ETA

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Unless you are Irish, an EU passport no longer lets you move to the UK freely, and the Skilled Worker visa now asks for a degree-level job, £41,700 and B2 English. Here is which UK visa fits you in 2026, which changes are already fixed – and why the 10-year path to settlement is still only a proposal.

Smiling woman holding a passport and a visa application form at a café table
Photo: sisterspro/Adobe Stock

UK visa rules have tightened step by step since mid-2025, and more changes are already fixed. Check these dates before you choose a UK visa.

DateWhat changed
22 July 2025Skilled Worker jobs must be at degree level (RQF 6) and pay at least £41,700; care worker recruitment from abroad closed
8 January 2026B2 English for new Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up applicants
25 February 2026ETA (electronic travel authorisation) enforced for visitors of 85 visa-free nationalities
8 April 2026Fees up: ETA £16 to £20, Skilled Worker (up to 3 years) £769 to £819, Student £524 to £558
8 October 2026EU Settlement Scheme: joining family members must apply within 3 months of their latest legal entry
30 November 2026Student funds rise to £1,570 a month in London, £1,203 elsewhere
1 January 2027Graduate visa cut from 2 years to 18 months for new applications
26 March 2027B2 instead of B1 English for settlement on most routes

Source: the Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration, read 23 September 2026.

One thing is not decided: the road to settlement. ILR (indefinite leave to remain) still comes after 5 years on most work routes. A Home Office consultation on 'earned settlement' proposes a 10-year baseline; it closed in February 2026 with more than 200,000 responses, and as of September 2026 it had not been written into the Immigration Rules. It is a proposal, not law – see part 15.

EU, EEA, Swiss and Irish citizens: do you need a UK visa after Brexit?

There has been no free movement since 1 January 2021. If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and started living in the UK by 31 December 2020, the EU Settlement Scheme covers you. The main deadline was 30 June 2021; you can still apply with 'reasonable grounds' or if your own deadline is later, and applying is free.

Other EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need a visa to work here for more than 6 months and an ETA for short visits, and can only enter on a national identity card with EU Settlement Scheme status or another listed exception. A UK–EU youth experience scheme is only under negotiation.

Irish citizens are the exception. Under the Common Travel Area they need no visa or permit, no ETA and no EU Settlement Scheme status. Their non-Irish family members are not covered and need a family visa or the EU Settlement Scheme.

Skilled Worker visa: salary, English and costs in 2026

You need a job offer from a Home Office-approved sponsor, a certificate of sponsorship, an eligible job, the minimum salary and English. Apply up to 3 months before your start date; decisions usually take 3 weeks from outside the UK.

Since 22 July 2025, new applicants need a job at RQF level 6 – degree level – which removed around 180 occupations. 'Medium skilled' jobs qualify only via the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List, whose entries carry removal dates at the end of 2026, or for extensions by people first sponsored before that date. The salary floor is £41,700 or the job's 'going rate', whichever is higher; new entrants such as under-26s can qualify from £33,400, and some health and education jobs from £25,000.

Since 8 January 2026, new applicants need B2 English; if you held the visa before that date, B1 is enough to extend. Nationals of majority English-speaking countries such as the USA are exempt. The visa lasts up to 5 years at a time, your partner and children can usually join you (in 'medium skilled' jobs, generally not), and it carries an NRPF (no recourse to public funds) condition. Eligible doctors, nurses and care staff use the cheaper Health and Care Worker visa, with no health surcharge.

Cost (autumn 2026)AmountWho pays
Visa from outside the UK£819 up to 3 years, £1,618 for longerYou and each dependant
Immigration Health Surcharge£1,035 per person per yearYou; dependants usually too
Savings held for 28 days£1,270, plus £285 for a partnerYou, unless your sponsor certifies maintenance
Certificate of sponsorship£525The employer
Immigration Skills Charge, first 12 months£1,320 (small or charitable sponsors £480)The employer – never the worker

Source: the Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration, read 23 September 2026.

Global Talent, High Potential Individual and Youth Mobility: work without a job offer

These routes need no job offer; after a UK degree, neither does the Graduate visa.

RouteWho it is forLengthFee
Global TalentLeaders and potential leaders in research, arts or digital technologyUp to 5 years at a time; ILR after 3 or 5 years£766
High Potential IndividualGraduates of an eligible top university outside the UK in the last 5 years2 years (3 with a PhD); no extension£880
Youth Mobility SchemeAges 18–30 from listed countries; 18–35 for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South KoreaUp to 2 years£340
UK AncestryCommonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man5 years£726

Source: the Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration, read 23 September 2026.

Global Talent has no English or salary requirement. High Potential Individual needs B2 English, is capped at 8,000 applications a year and does not lead to settlement. Youth Mobility needs £2,530 in savings; from the EEA, only Iceland takes part.

Student visa and Graduate visa: funds, work and the 2027 cut

A Student visa needs an unconditional offer from a licensed sponsor and a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies). The fee is £558, plus a health surcharge of £776 a year.

You must also show living costs, held for 28 days in a row, on top of your first year's course fees: £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 elsewhere, for up to 9 months – £1,570 and £1,203 for applications from 30 November 2026. Degree-level students may work 20 hours a week in term time, and only research students, such as PhD candidates, and government-sponsored students can bring family.

The Graduate visa then lets you stay and work: 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027, and 3 years after a PhD. It costs £937 plus the health surcharge, so graduating in 2026 is a reason to apply before the year ends.

Family visas, refugees and visitors

To join a partner who is British, Irish or settled here, you need a family visa. You usually need a combined income of at least £29,000 a year, and employment income only counts if earned in the UK. The fee is £2,064 from abroad, plus a health surcharge of £3,105 per adult for the first 2 years and 9 months, and you need A1 English. If your family member is here on a work or student visa, apply as their dependant instead.

Refugee family reunion has been suspended for new applications since 4 September 2025. Refugees who claimed asylum on or after 2 March 2026 get 30 months' permission, renewable, instead of 5 years.

Coming to look first? Visa-free visitors, including non-Irish EU citizens and Americans, need an ETA. It costs £20, lasts 2 years or until your passport expires, and allows visits of up to 6 months – but no work, and no living here through repeated visits.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Find your route: EU Settlement Scheme, work, study, family – or none, if IrishBefore anything else
2Skilled Worker: check RQF 6 and a salary of at least £41,700 or the going rateBefore you accept the offer
3Book an approved English test if you need B2Before you apply
4Budget for the fee and health surcharge for each family memberBefore you apply
5Graduates: apply for the 2-year Graduate visaBy 31 December 2026
6Create your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account and add your passport (part 3)When you are granted

Source: the Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.