As of 29 May 2025, the Home Office updated its Sponsorship duties guidance and Student and Child Student guidance. From 15 July 2025, further developments are anticipated in how entry clearance is granted for overseas applicants under work and study routes through eVisas. We previously covered how the government’s Immigration White Paper will affect international students more generally, and in this article we will go into more detail about sponsorship guidance as well as student and child student guidance.
We have summarised the key changes made in the new guidance below:
Sponsorship Duties
- Record-keeping requirements for Student sponsors are now consolidated within the main Student sponsor guidance;
- Retention rules clarified: documents must be kept until 1 year post-sponsorship, or until a compliance officer has signed off, whichever is earlier;
- Original passports must not be retained, unless for safekeeping for minors, and they can access passports with parents’/guardians’ consent;
- Sponsors must be aware of their data protection obligations under UK regulations;
- Sponsors must keep copies of specific documents of each sponsored student, including parental consent letters, which can be in paper or electronic form.
Additional changes
- From 31 October 2025, successful applicants under the Student and Child Student routes will receive eVisas, rather than visa vignettes and BRPs;
- Student sponsor licences will no longer require renewal;
- Enhanced safeguarding and reporting duties for Child Student sponsors:
- Required confirmation of living arrangements at the Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) stage;
- Detailed rules around permitted carers/guardians, travel arrangements, and permitted living arrangements;
- Sponsors must report on the Sponsorship Management System non-permitted living arrangements within 10 working days, along with remedial steps.
eVisa rollout for entry clearance
The Home Office has confirmed that from 15 July 2025, applicants under study and work routes applying for entry clearance from abroad may no longer receive a physical visa vignette in their passport. Instead, they will need to:
- Create a UKVI account to access their digital eVisa before travelling; and
- Follow specific instructions, which will be given at the time of application submission.
Importantly, this does not yet apply to:
- Dependants of other visa routes; or
- Applicants in non-study/work routes, who will still receive a physical vignette.
At this stage, the guidance remains vague, using the term “may”, and does not confirm the operational changes or logistics involved.
Conclusion
These changes mark a continued shift towards digitisation, simplification, and enhanced compliance oversight. Sponsors, especially educational institutions, must now prepare for stricter safeguarding protocols around Child Student care and documentation. In addition, it would be prudent for them to review and adjust internal compliance policies and training procedures to align with the updated record-keeping and eVisa framework.
For overseas applicants, the gradual phasing out of visa vignettes signals a new era of digital-only travel clearance, though operational clarity is still awaited. Sponsors and employers should monitor updates closely to ensure students and workers arriving after July 2025 are aware of the new eVisa process and prepare accordingly.
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