7 Statements of Changes
Statements of Changes, each with their own ‘HC’ number (HC stands for House of Commons), amend the Immigration Rules. They are available on GOV.UK [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
Although the rules are commonly referred to as the Immigration Rules, they are officially issued as ‘Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules’. The last consolidated set of rules to be published in hard copy was HC 395 (23 May 1994). Each Statement of Change only sets out any changes made, rather than the Rules as a whole.
Note that each Statement of Change has a separate number, and that they may originate as:
- House of Commons papers, which start with ‘HC’ followed by a number
- Command papers, which start with ‘Cm’ followed by a number.
Changes are frequently made to the Immigration Rules, so when you refer to them it is important to find out whether there have been amendments. An updated copy of the Rules (incorporating all Statements of Changes) has been provided by the Home Office (GOV.UK, 2021b)