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From 11 November 2025, the Home Office has replaced the long-standing “General Grounds for Refusal” with a new framework called Part Suitability. The core principle is unchanged: applications can be refused, or existing permission cancelled if the applicant fails the suitability rules. The important practical change is that Part Suitability now applies across almost all routes, including human-rights based categories such as Appendix FM, Appendix Private Life, Appendix Adult Dependent Relative and Appendix Settlement Family Life. Where a refusal under Part Suitability would breach the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the route-specific rules set out the approach to be taken, but the starting point is that the Part applies to decisions taken on or after 11 November 2025. 

On 12 May 2025, the UK Government published the Restoring Control Over the Immigration System White Paper. These reforms, many of which take effect from 22 July 2025, will significantly reshape the UK’s immigration landscape.