On December 9, 2025, the government published a statement of changes in immigration rules (HC 1491) introducing a visit visa requirement for nationals of Nauru, closing the Service Providers from Switzerland route and making changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
Visit visa for Nauru
Effective December 10, 2025, nationals of Nauru will need to apply for and obtain a visa prior to visiting the UK. Nationals of Nauru will also be required to obtain a Direct Airside Transit Visa if they intend to transit via the UK having booked travel to another country.
Nationals of Nauru will no longer be eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) for travel to the UK. There will be a six-week, visa-free transition period for those who already hold an ETA and have a confirmed booking to the UK obtained on or before 15:00 GMT December 9, 2025, where arrival in the UK is no later than 15:00 GMT January 20, 2026. Nationals of Nauru who meet these criteria will not be required to obtain a visit visa before travel. Amending the date of travel on a confirmed booking to an earlier date that falls within the transition period would still require the person to have a visa.
This decision has been driven in response to the country’s decision to introduce a new Citizenship by Investment program, which the UK government considers vulnerable to misuse and exploitation by criminal actors or individuals seeking to circumvent UK immigration controls without genuine intent to comply with UK law.
Closure of the Service Providers from Switzerland route
The Service Providers from Switzerland (SPS) route (in Appendix Service Providers from Switzerland) will close on December 31, 2025 and then be deleted from the Immigration Rules on January 1, 2026. Any pending application for entry clearance or administrative review in respect of that route will then be rejected as invalid.
The route was created in December 2020 in accordance with the UK-Switzerland Citizens’ Rights Agreement. This required that UK and Swiss companies be allowed to continue to service contracts with their respective clients in Switzerland or the UK, where the contract was signed and commenced before the end of the post-EU exit transition period on December 31, 2020. This was intended to be a transitional arrangement ceasing on December 31, 2025, unless the UK and Switzerland agreed to extend it by a further five years. With alternative routes in place for UK businesses to provide services in Switzerland (and vice versa), the UK and Switzerland have agreed that such an extension is not required and the SPS route will therefore close on December 31, 2025. Under the existing rules for the route, any visa issued under it will expire on that date where it has not already done so.
Changes relating to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
The changes for the EUSS (in Appendix EU) will align the grounds for cancelling pre-settled status under the EUSS on or before the holder’s arrival in the UK with those for curtailing it in-country.
Additionally, all EUSS status holders will be able 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.
Other minor technical changes are listed in the Explanatory Memorandum.
Erickson Insights & Analysis
Erickson Immigration Group will continue to monitor developments and share updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions.