What are suitability requirements?

Suitability requirements are the rules in Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules that set out when the Home Office must or may refuse an application for entry clearance or permission, or cancel permission you already hold. They cover areas such as criminality, deception, breaches of immigration law and failing to provide information, and apply to most routes.

How suitability requirements work

Part Suitability is a part of the Immigration Rules that applies to most routes. If an applicant is refused under it, they do not meet the suitability requirements of the route they applied under.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability} Home Office guidance says “suitability requirements” is the term used for what were previously called grounds for refusal, and that Part Suitability replaced Part 9 of the Immigration Rules on 11 November 2025.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Cancellation and curtailment of permission: caseworker guidance}

A person may also have their entry clearance or permission cancelled under Part Suitability. The Rules say the powers to cancel come from the Immigration Act 1971 and other legislation, and the Part explains how those powers are used.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

Decisions are either mandatory or discretionary. Where the Rules say “must”, the decision maker has to refuse or cancel. Where they say “may”, there is a choice. Where refusing would be incompatible with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, the route specific rules set out what to do.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

The Part is in five sections. They cover how it applies, grounds for refusal or cancellation, extra grounds on arrival in the UK, extra grounds for refusing or cancelling permission to stay, and extra grounds for cancelling entry clearance and permission.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

Where it applies

Part Suitability applies to all routes under the Rules except Appendix EU, Appendix EU (Family Permit) and a small number of other provisions that the Rules list. For some other appendices, only stated provisions apply. Part Suitability does not apply to Appendix Electronic Travel Authorisation. Some routes have their own, or additional, suitability requirements.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

The main grounds

These are only the main grounds, and each one has its own conditions and exceptions in the Part Suitability page.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

A previous breach of immigration law covers an adult who overstayed, breached a condition, was an illegal entrant, used deception in a previous application or acted to frustrate immigration controls.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability} See overstaying, deception and re-entry ban. For the wider set of refusal reasons see general grounds for refusal.

Cancellation

Part Suitability also lists grounds for cancelling permission, including breach of conditions, a change of circumstances, ceasing to meet the rules of the route and sponsorship being withdrawn. See curtailment of leave.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability} Where a person has settlement and is in the UK, their permission can only be cancelled on the grounds in section 76 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

Example

Anil applies for a family visa. A relevant NHS body has told the Home Office he owes overseas visitor charges of £500. Under SUI 16.1 the application may be refused on that ground, which is a discretionary ground.

Sara applies for entry clearance and has a custodial sentence of 14 months from a conviction overseas. Under SUI 5.1 the Rules say her application must be refused. Her case is different from one where the sentence was a non-custodial one, which falls under the discretionary ground in SUI 5.3.

What people get wrong

People often think that anything on a criminal record means automatic refusal. It does not. The Rules separate sentences of 12 months or more, which are mandatory refusals, from shorter sentences and recorded out-of-court disposals, which are discretionary.

A second common mistake is to think that omitting a detail is a small matter. Deception grounds apply where false information is given, and also where relevant facts are not disclosed.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability} A third mistake is to rely on older material that refers to Part 9. Part Suitability replaced Part 9 on 11 November 2025.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Cancellation and curtailment of permission: caseworker guidance}

The bottom line

Suitability requirements are the Home Office’s own tests of whether an applicant should be refused, or have permission cancelled, for reasons such as criminality, deception or earlier breaches of immigration law. Some grounds are mandatory and some are discretionary. They apply to most routes but not all. Read the wording of the specific paragraph for your route, because the exact conditions matter.