Entry clearance or permission must now be refused or cancelled where a person has a suspended sentence of 12 months or more, under Immigration Rules amended on 26 March 2026.
Key facts
- Who: Applicants for entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay, and people who already hold entry clearance or permission, where they have a UK or overseas suspended sentence of 12 months or more
- From: 26 March 2026
- Source: Suitability: grounds for refusal / cancellation – criminality (accessible)
Version 5.0 of the UK Visas and Immigration criminality guidance for staff was published on 26 March 2026. It says the Immigration Rules were amended that day to extend the mandatory grounds for refusal or cancellation to suspended sentences of at least 12 months.
Before this change, the guidance treated a custodial sentence of 12 months or more as a mandatory ground. Paragraphs SUI 5.1 (refusal) and SUI 5.2 (cancellation) of Part Suitability now cover a person convicted of a criminal offence, in the UK or overseas, for which they received "a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more". Section 4.1 tells staff they must refuse the application in these cases.
Sentences of less than 12 months remain discretionary. Paragraphs SUI 5.3 (refusal) and SUI 5.5 (cancellation) cover custodial or suspended sentences of less than 12 months. They also cover non-custodial sentences and out-of-court disposals recorded on a criminal record. Staff must consider the individual circumstances of each case.
Visitors, and people seeking entry on arrival for a stay of less than 6 months, are treated differently. Under paragraph SUI 5.4, refusal is mandatory for a custodial or suspended sentence of less than 12 months, unless more than 12 months have passed since the end of the sentence. Once that period has passed, staff may still consider refusal on a discretionary basis under SUI 5.3.
Section 4.3 sets out how sentences are counted. Where sentences run concurrently, the decision is based on the longest single sentence. Where they run consecutively, it is based on their combined length.
The guidance says a person with a custodial or suspended sentence who is in the UK may meet the threshold for deportation. Staff must refer such cases to FNO Returns Command.
The update also changes the sections on serious harm, overseas offending and sexual offences, and clarifies the approach to pardons and to exercising discretion.
Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules does not apply to applications for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA). Those are considered under Appendix: Electronic Travel Authorisation.
What this means for applicants
A person with a suspended sentence of 12 months or more, from a UK or overseas court, will have an application refused. A person who already holds entry clearance or permission will have it cancelled. Under section 4.1 and paragraphs SUI 5.1 and SUI 5.2, staff must refuse or cancel on this ground.
Applicants must still disclose all offences and penalties, in the UK and overseas. The application forms state that failure to declare them may lead to refusal.
Suspended sentences of less than 12 months are generally decided case by case. For visitors and people seeking entry for less than 6 months, refusal under SUI 5.4 is mandatory unless more than 12 months have passed since the end of the sentence. After that, refusal is discretionary under SUI 5.3.
Related guide: General grounds for UK visa refusal
Sources
- Suitability: grounds for refusal / cancellation – criminality (accessible), UK Visas and Immigration, version 5.0, updated 26 March 2026