Visa rules that changed — and what most guides still say
Seven rules changed between June 2025 and April 2026. Each one invalidated advice that is still being published, in some cases by the largest sites in the category.
We did not set out to compile this. Each entry surfaced while researching an article, because we check the government source rather than paraphrasing other websites — which is the only way any of these become visible. How we verify →
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Apr 2026Schengen Area
Passport stamps replaced by the Entry/Exit System
EES became mandatory at all Schengen border crossings. Entry and exit are recorded biometrically and the 90/180 count is calculated automatically, in real time.
Still widely publishedCount the stamps in your passport to work out your remaining days.There is no officer discretion on the count and no grace period. During the phased rollout the system logged 45m border records, detected 4,000+ overstays and refused entry to 24,000+ people.
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Mar 2026Georgia
"Remotely from Georgia" ended; work permits now mandatory
Amendments passed in June 2025 took effect, separating visa-free entry from the right to work. The free nomad programme is discontinued.
Still widely publishedGeorgia has a free digital nomad visa with a $2,000/month threshold.365-day visa-free entry survives and is still exceptional — but it no longer carries an automatic right to work remotely. Nearly every "cheapest nomad visa" list still leads with Georgia.
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Nov 2025United Kingdom
Part 9 replaced by Part Suitability
Deception refusals moved to SUI 9.1 and the associated bans to SUI 12.1.
Still widely publishedYour refusal is a paragraph 320(7A).That paragraph has now been superseded twice — by Part 9 in 2020, and Part 9 by Part Suitability in 2025. It persists because reported case law cites it and judgments never update.
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Sep 2025United States
Interviews must be in your country of residence
Applicants must interview in their country of citizenship or permanent residence.
Still widely publishedApply at the consulate with the best approval odds.Consulate shopping is over. Advice comparing refusal rates between posts is now describing a choice you cannot make — and per-consulate refusal data was never published in the first place.
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Jul 2025Canada
IRCC now includes officer notes with refusal letters
Decision notes are proactively included with many refusals for visitor visas, study permits and work permits.
Still widely publishedOrder your GCMS notes as the first step after a refusal.Often unnecessary now, and acting on the old advice costs 30–60 days. Separately: an ATIP request under the Privacy Act is free — services charging for it are filing a free request.
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Jul 2025Schengen Area
Remonstration abolished worldwide
The voluntary embassy-review procedure was withdrawn. Embassies no longer reconsider their own refusals through it.
Still widely publishedFile a remonstration with the embassy — it is free and informal.Following that advice can burn the deadline for the formal appeal that does still exist. Those deadlines are strict and differ by country: one month in Germany and Spain, six weeks in the Netherlands, two months in France.
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Oct 2024Australia
The AAT was abolished and replaced by the ART
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Immigration Assessment Authority were replaced by the Administrative Review Tribunal, which now handles all migration and protection reviews.
Still widely publishedAppeal your visa refusal to the AAT.Deadlines are absolute and now split by subclass and circumstances — 14 days in detention, 28 days otherwise, 21 for many onshore partner, student and skilled refusals. Missing one removes your review rights permanently, and further changes commence by 10 August 2026.
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Jun 2025United States
Social media disclosure with public profiles
Every handle used in the past five years must be declared on the DS-160, with profiles set to public for consular review.
Still widely publishedLock down your social media before applying.The intuitive response is now the damaging one. A private or absent presence reads as evasiveness, which feeds the 214(b) intent assessment — and deleting a declared account is a misrepresentation risk, which is far more serious than a refusal.
How to tell whether a source is current
You do not need to know the rules to spot a stale page. Any of these is enough on its own:
- Georgia listed as a free nomad visa
- Advice to count passport stamps for the Schengen 90/180 rule
- Paragraph 320(7A) described as the current UK provision
- Remonstration recommended after a Schengen refusal
- "Order GCMS notes" given as the automatic first step after a Canadian refusal
- Advice to choose a US consulate with better approval odds
- A recommendation to lock down your social media before a US application
Every one of those was correct at some point in the last two years, which is exactly why they persist. Pages are rarely wrong when written — they go wrong quietly, and nothing on the page tells you when.
That is the argument for the verification date on every page here. Ours will go stale too. The difference is that you will be able to see it.
Tell us about one we have missed
If you have hit a rule that changed and found the internet still describing the old one, send it to info@visadecision.com with a link to the official source. We will verify and add it.