Alongside the Commons statement, the Home Office published a policy paper—titled “Restoring Order and Control”—setting out the legal architecture for the new asylum regime and signalling further secondary legislation over the next six months. The document confirms government intent to rewrite Immigration Rules so that failed asylum seekers who refuse voluntary departure will lose access to public services, bank accounts and driving licences within 90 days.
Critically for mobility professionals, the paper proposes an ‘emergency visa brake’. Under this power, the Home Secretary could suspend entry-clearance grants to nationals of any country with low cooperation on returns, after a 30-day warning notice. The mechanism will sit in the Immigration Act via a statutory instrument that requires only a single affirmative vote, giving ministers unprecedented agility.
![Home Office Issues ‘Restoring Order and Control’ White Paper Detailing Asylum and Returns Policy]()
The White Paper also announces a single digital status record—combining immigration history, criminality data and employment permissions—accessible to employers through an upgraded View & Prove portal. A public beta is scheduled for April 2026; employers will eventually have to integrate their HR systems via API.
Stakeholders have until 16 December 2025 to respond to three consultations: widened right-to-work checks, AI age assessment standards, and data-sharing protocols with gig-economy platforms. Businesses that rely on contingent labour or on nationals from lower-income countries should consider submitting evidence and updating workforce-planning assumptions.
Failure to prepare could result in sudden recruitment bottlenecks if the emergency brake is triggered or if digital status checks are enforced before corporate systems are ready. In the short term, mobility teams should map employee nationalities against the Home Office’s risk list and ensure records of share-codes and passport data are up to date.
Critically for mobility professionals, the paper proposes an ‘emergency visa brake’. Under this power, the Home Secretary could suspend entry-clearance grants to nationals of any country with low cooperation on returns, after a 30-day warning notice. The mechanism will sit in the Immigration Act via a statutory instrument that requires only a single affirmative vote, giving ministers unprecedented agility.
The White Paper also announces a single digital status record—combining immigration history, criminality data and employment permissions—accessible to employers through an upgraded View & Prove portal. A public beta is scheduled for April 2026; employers will eventually have to integrate their HR systems via API.
Stakeholders have until 16 December 2025 to respond to three consultations: widened right-to-work checks, AI age assessment standards, and data-sharing protocols with gig-economy platforms. Businesses that rely on contingent labour or on nationals from lower-income countries should consider submitting evidence and updating workforce-planning assumptions.
Failure to prepare could result in sudden recruitment bottlenecks if the emergency brake is triggered or if digital status checks are enforced before corporate systems are ready. In the short term, mobility teams should map employee nationalities against the Home Office’s risk list and ensure records of share-codes and passport data are up to date.
