Immigration rule changes in 2025
32 dated rule changes recorded in 2025, from 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31. Each item links to the programme page and the official source we recorded it from. This is a record of what we captured, not a complete legislative history.
← All updates & policy changes
December 2025 (1)
Luxembourgish Citizenship by Descent: Article 89 Phase 2 closed: the final deadline to sign a reclamation declaration before a civil registrar expired. The entire 1900-ancestor recovery programme is now permanently closed.
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October 2025 (1)
Germany EU Blue Card: The C1-German three-year 'exceptional integration' naturalisation fast-track (introduced June 2024) was repealed; the standard naturalisation route is five years at B1 German.
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September 2025 (3)
Portugal D1 Visa (Subordinate Work / Dependent Employment Visa): Portugal's nationality law reform extended the general residency requirement for naturalization from 5 to 10 years (7 years for CPLP/Portuguese-speaking country nationals and EU member states); permanent residency eligibility at 5 years is unaffected. The law has been in force since 19 May 2026, and applications pending before that date keep the former 5-year timeline.
source →Portugal D2 Entrepreneur / Independent Worker Visa: Portugal's nationality-law reform raised the general residency period required before naturalisation from 5 years to 10 (7 years for CPLP/Portuguese-speaking country nationals and EU member states), directly affecting the long-term citizenship timeline for D2 holders even though the 5-year path to permanent residency was unchanged.
source →Portugal D3 Visa (Highly Qualified Activity Visa): Portugal's nationality law reform extended the general residency requirement for naturalization from 5 to 10 years (7 years for CPLP and EU nationals); permanent residency eligibility at 5 years is unaffected. The law has been in force since 19 May 2026, and applications pending before that date keep the former 5-year timeline.
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August 2025 (2)
France Talent Passport — Salaried Employee (Salarié Qualifié): An arrêté of 21 August 2025 set a fixed gross annual reference salary of €39,582 for the Passeport Talent — salarié qualifié category, decoupling the threshold from the SMIC; the figure did not change with the 2026 SMIC increases.
source →France Talent Passport (Passeport Talent): An arrêté of 21 August 2025 set a fixed gross annual reference salary of €39,582 for the Passeport Talent — salarié qualifié track, decoupling it from the SMIC.
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July 2025 (3)
Malta Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment: Malta amended the Citizenship Act, discontinuing the direct-investment citizenship route for new applicants and replacing it with a discretionary, merit-based exceptional-services naturalisation framework. No citizenship-by-investment programme now operates in the EU.
source →French Citizenship by Descent (Jus Sanguinis via a French Parent): Decret n. 2025-648 amended the 1993 decree governing procedures for nationality declarations and decisions on naturalisation, reinstatement, loss, forfeiture, and withdrawal of French nationality. The decree is primarily procedural; specific practical effects on descent-based CNF requests have not been independently confirmed.
source →Vietnamese Citizenship Restoration for Overseas Vietnamese: Law 79/2025/QH15 removed the six prior eligibility conditions for citizenship restoration, allowing any former Vietnamese national to apply. Presidential approval of each individual application remains mandatory.
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May 2025 (3)
Italian Citizenship by Descent (Jure Sanguinis): Law 74/2025 (converting Law Decree 36/2025 of 27 March 2025) imposed a two-generation limit on jure sanguinis: automatic recognition now requires a parent or grandparent born in Italy. Applications filed before 27 March 2025 are grandfathered under the prior no-generational-limit rules. The Constitutional Court upheld the reform on 12 March 2026.
source →UK Graduate Route Visa: The UK Government's immigration white paper, 'Restoring Control over the Immigration System', proposed reducing the Graduate Route's standard post-study period from 24 to 18 months and introducing a levy on international student tuition fees to fund higher-education and skills spending. These measures were subject to consultation and phased Immigration Rules changes rather than taking effect immediately — confirm current status against gov.uk.
source →UK High Potential Individual (HPI) Visa: The UK Government's immigration white paper, 'Restoring Control over the Immigration System', proposed extending the standard qualifying period for settlement (ILR) from 5 to 10 years for most work-based routes, with a faster track for high-contributing/high-skill migrants — relevant to anyone using HPI as a bridge into a settlement-qualifying route. Measures were subject to consultation and phased implementation; confirm current status against gov.uk.
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April 2025 (4)
Malta Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment: Court of Justice of the EU (Grand Chamber) ruled in Case C-181/23 that Malta's investor-citizenship scheme (CES) is contrary to EU law, holding that EU citizenship cannot be acquired through a predetermined financial transaction without a genuine link.
source →UK Ancestry Visa: UK abolished the non-domicile remittance basis; replaced by the FIG regime offering full foreign-income-and-gains exemption for the first 4 years of UK tax residence to new arrivals.
source →UK Skilled Worker Visa: Non-dom remittance basis abolished for new arrivals. 4-year FIG regime introduced.
source →NZ Active Investor Plus Visa: Active Investor Plus launched, replacing Investor 1 + Investor 2. Weighted-investment system introduced.
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February 2025 (4)
Thailand LTR Visa – Highly Skilled Professional: BOI Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 (effective 4 February 2025) removed the Highly Skilled Professional category's 5-year work-experience requirement.
source →Thailand LTR Visa – Wealthy Global Citizen: BOI Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 (effective 4 February 2025) removed the Wealthy Global Citizen category's USD 80,000/year personal-income requirement; eligibility now rests on USD 1,000,000 in personal assets plus a USD 500,000 qualifying investment in Thailand.
source →Thailand LTR Visa – Work-from-Thailand Professional: BOI Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 (effective 4 February 2025) removed the Work-from-Thailand Professional category's 5-year work-experience requirement and cut the qualifying overseas-employer combined-revenue threshold from USD 150 million to USD 50 million over 3 years.
source →Thailand Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa: BOI Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 (effective 4 February 2025) removed the Wealthy Global Citizen category's USD 80,000/year personal-income test; that category now qualifies on USD 1,000,000 in assets plus a USD 500,000 qualifying investment in Thailand.
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January 2025 (11)
US H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa: Trump administration's January 2025 executive orders restored prior immigration-enforcement priorities; H-1B programme rules unchanged at the regulation level but enforcement and Request-for-Evidence (RFE) rates expected to increase.
source →Thailand Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa: BOI press release 8/2568 (15 January 2025) announced LTR criteria updates that removed the cap of 4 dependents and added parents and other legal dependents (spouse, children under 20, parents) to those who can be included. Implementation also depended on a Ministry of Interior announcement. Each dependent pays the THB 50,000 visa fee.
source →Bulgarian Citizenship by Origin (Repatriation): Bulgaria became full Schengen member; Bulgarian citizenship now confers free movement across the entire Schengen Area.
source →Romanian Citizenship by Descent / Reacquisition (Article 11): Romania became full Schengen member; Romanian citizenship now confers free movement across the entire Schengen Area, materially increasing the value proposition of the Article 11 descent route.
source →Germany Student Visa: Sperrkonto minimum raised to €11,904/year (€992/month) for 2025, up from €11,208 in 2024, tracking BAföG living-cost rates.
source →Romania Digital Nomad Visa: Romania became full Schengen member; DN visa holders gain free movement across Schengen during visa validity.
source →Switzerland B Residence Permit (Employment): Switzerland adjusted federal annual quotas for non-EU B and L permits; Confederation maintained ~8,500 B + 4,500 L Permits.
source →Thailand LTR Visa – Highly Skilled Professional: BOI eased Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa eligibility criteria across categories, as part of a package intended to increase LTR programme uptake following its 2022 launch.
source →Thailand LTR Visa – Wealthy Global Citizen: BOI eased Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa eligibility criteria across categories, as part of a package intended to increase LTR programme uptake following its 2022 launch.
source →Thailand LTR Visa – Wealthy Pensioner: BOI eased Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa eligibility criteria across categories, as part of a package intended to increase LTR programme uptake following its 2022 launch.
source →Thailand LTR Visa – Work-from-Thailand Professional: BOI eased Work-from-Thailand Professional eligibility criteria, including a reduced minimum revenue requirement for the qualifying overseas employer, as part of a broader relaxation of LTR programme requirements.
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