UK immigration rules change due to return to Erasmus+

The new UK immigration rules, following the UK’s return to Erasmus+, have come into force on 08/10/2026.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has explained that, from now on, applications under the Student Immigration Route allow students with a student visa to undertake Erasmus+ programmes at participating institutions. The educational qualification requirements are also deemed met if the course is undertaken at an institution participating in the Erasmus+ programme.

Furthermore, a course undertaken as part of Erasmus+ will no longer be required to lead to a recognised qualification, although this is normally a requirement. The maximum duration of work placements has also been removed for Erasmus+ courses that include them. Normally, this is capped at between…