Home Office adds Nicaragua and St Lucia to UK visa-required list under HC 1691
The new visit visa requirement took effect at 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026. Statement of Changes HC 1691 also revises Skilled Worker, refugee, and deportation provisions.
The UK Home Office laid Statement of Changes HC 1691 before Parliament on 5 March 2026, introducing a visit visa requirement for nationals of Nicaragua and St Lucia that took effect the same day at 15:00 GMT. The statement also revises Skilled Worker, asylum, refugee, and deportation provisions across multiple effective dates through 2026.
What's changed
Statement of Changes HC 1691 was laid before Parliament on 5 March 2026 by Mike Tapp MP, Minister for Migration and Citizenship at the Home Office. The statement makes amendments across several routes of the Immigration Rules.
The most immediate change adds Nicaragua and St Lucia to the list of nationalities required to obtain a visit visa before travelling to the UK. The Home Office departed from the usual convention of a 21-day notice period before Immigration Rule changes take effect — the new visit visa requirement entered force at 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026, the same day the statement was laid.
HC 1691 also introduces a transitional £31,300 salary threshold for prison officers sponsored under the Skilled Worker route, valid until 31 December 2027, and limits prison-officer sponsorship to a maximum of three years rather than the standard five. Separate provisions update deportation thresholds: foreign nationals given a suspended sentence of at least 12 months on or after 22 March 2026 become liable for deportation, reflecting amendments under the Sentencing Act 2026. The statement also adjusts asylum seekers' permission to work and refugee-route provisions.
Who's affected
Nicaraguan and Saint Lucian nationals who previously could enter the UK as non-visa visitors must now apply for a visit visa before travel, regardless of trip purpose or length. The change affects all travellers from these nationalities, including those who would have entered under the UK Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme.
The Skilled Worker provisions affect employers sponsoring prison officers and the prison-officer beneficiaries themselves. The deportation threshold change applies to foreign nationals convicted in UK courts and given a suspended sentence of 12 months or longer on or after 22 March 2026. The asylum and refugee provisions affect ongoing claims and protections under those routes.
When it takes effect
The visit visa requirement for Nicaragua and St Lucia became binding at 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026, departing from the standard 21-day notice convention. The deportation threshold change applies to suspended sentences imposed on or after 22 March 2026. The Skilled Worker prison-officer transitional salary threshold runs through 31 December 2027.
The remaining provisions of HC 1691 take effect on dates set out in the Statement and Explanatory Memorandum, with transitional arrangements for applications made before the relevant rule change. As of 3 May 2026, the visit visa requirement for Nicaragua and St Lucia remains in force.