On 9 December 2025, the Home Office laid before Parliament a new Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules and we will run down the main changes:
New visitor-visa requirement for nationals of Nauru
Nauru removed from ETA eligibility: From 15:00 GMT on 9 December 2025, Nauruan nationals are no longer eligible to travel to the UK under the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme. Instead, they must apply for a full visitor (standard) visa.
Transit rules amended: Nationals of Nauru now also require a Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV) if they intend to transit through the UK en route to another destination.
Grace / transitional period: A six-week transitional window has been offered. Nauruans who held a valid ETA and had confirmed bookings before 15:00 GMT on 9 Dec 2025 may still travel provided they arrive by 15:00 GMT on 20 Jan 2026.
Closure of the “Service Providers from Switzerland (SPS)” route
This is effective 31 December 2025, which affects certain cross-border service/work contracts between UK and Swiss companies.
New grounds for cancelling pre-settled status
From 30 Dec 2025, a new grounds for cancelling pre-settled status will take effect to enable cancellation if it is more likely than not that the holder helped someone else to obtain entry clearance fraudulently.
The travel permit (Appendix EU Family Permit) provisions will expand eligibility by enabling all EUSS status holders to obtain an EUSS travel permit where they are unable to update their UK Visas and Immigration account, for example with the details of a new travel document, from outside the UK.
Unaccompanied asylum seeking children
A change relating to protection/leave-for-children seeking asylum: for unaccompanied minors, limited leave can only be granted once a protection claim has been refused — clarifying that leave will not be granted while a decision is pending. The present rules imply that a grant of limited leave could be made while a decision on the protection claim was still pending, however from 30 December 2025, leave will only be granted after asylum is refused, meaning that many unaccompanied asylum seeking children will be left in an uncertain state for longer.
The latest Statement of Changes main changes marks a clear and immediate tightening of the UK’s visa rules for one of the smallest sovereign states, Nauru. By rescinding ETA eligibility and imposing full visitor-visa / transit-visa requirements, the UK is signalling a broader reluctance to accept passports issued by “citizenship-by-investment” programmes at face value. Whether this is a one-off reaction or the beginning of a wider shift remains to be seen.
