Here’s what’s new…
Jul 19, 2023
On 13 July 2023, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that visa fees and immigration health surcharges paid by visa applicants who want to come to the UK to live and work will increase significantly. The announcement came after a speech regarding an increase in public sector wages, which includes teachers, police, junior doctors, and other public sector workers.
The cost of UK immigration has been notable for rising steeply over the last fifteen years. For non-EEA nationals coming to the UK, UK visa and nationality application costs have become more expensive over time. Annual increases of 20-25% have become standard for applications for indefinite leave to remain.
Here at Centuro Global, we’ve seen these costs rise over time and how it affects UK companies with employees coming from outside the EEA. Increased costs pressure employers and employees and can become incredibly stifling. We’ve put together some points worth remembering for companies and individuals when attempting to hire, move and settle in the UK.
New visa fees set to come into effect from October 4, 2023
The UK Home Office has confirmed increases in visa fees for travellers across the globe will go into effect on October 4.
Under the new fee structure, a visit visa for less than six months will cost GBP 15 more, while the fee for applying for a student visa from outside the country will rise by 127 pounds to 490 pounds.
The changes will also be implemented across various visa categories, including the cost of health and care visas, applications for British citizenship registration and naturalization, and visit visas for different durations (up to six months, two, five, and ten years).
This also encompasses entry clearance and specific applications for leave to remain in the UK, covering areas like work and study, indefinite leave to enter and remain, and fees related to certificates of sponsorship and confirmation of acceptance for studies.
However, the changes do not include the planned increase to the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), scheduled to be introduced later in the Autumn.
The changes include:
- Fees for up to 6 months, 2, 5 and 10 year visit visas.
- The majority of entry clearance fees and specific leave applications to remain in the UK, including those for work and study.
- Fees for indefinite leave to enter and indefinite leave to remain.
- Convention travel document and stateless person’s travel document.
- Health and Care visa.
- Fees concerning certificates of sponsorship and confirmation of acceptance for studies.
- The in and out-of-country fee for the super-priority service and the out-of-country fee for the priority service. The settlement priority service will be reduced to align with the priority service’s cost.
- Applications to Register and Naturalise as a British Citizen.
- The fee for the User Pays Visa Application service.
A complete list of the new fees can be found at Visa fees transparency data – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
How much do you need to pay now for visa fees and immigration health surcharge?
The current prices for various visas in 2023 are below, as found on the Home Office website.
Current Visa Fees
- Ancestry visa – £531
- Partner/spouse visa – £1,538
- Innovator Founder visa – £1,036
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (more than three years) – £1,235
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (less than three years) – £625
- Skilled Worker visa – shortage occupation (less than three years) – £479
- Skilled Worker visa – shortage occupation (more than three years) – £943
- Health and Care visa (less than three years) – £247
- Health and Care visa (more than three years) – £479
- Student visa – £490
- Youth Mobility Scheme visa – £259
- Visitor visa (6 months) – £100
- Visitor visa (2 years) – £376
For the immigration health surcharge, The amount you’ll have to pay depends on which visa you are applying for and how long you’ll be staying in the UK. The current fee is £624. If you’re applying for an Ancestry visa valid for five years, you’ll have to pay £3,120 upfront as part of your application.
The immigration health surcharges for other common visas are as follows:
- Spouse visa – £1,560
- Spousal extension – £1,560
- Youth Mobility Scheme – £1,240
- Student visa – £470 per year.
In addition to the above, other fees may apply depending on your circumstances, location at the time of application, and nationality; these include:
- Biometric Enrolment fee – this usually is £19.20 for most applications from within the UK.
- Visa /Biometric Centre fee – this depends on the locality; in the UK, this ranges from £72 to £200 if you don’t go to limited visa core centres, which release their appointments at midnight. For an application from abroad, some centres charge about £55.
- Optional services – this applies to applications both from abroad and in the UK; you have to submit the application passport work and biometric by a government-contracted 3rd party (TLScontact, VFSglobal or UKVCAS), who then tries to up-sell you extra services, e.g. the UKCAS Document Scanning service at £51 per person. These may not be necessary, but many applicants book the appointment unaware that extra steps may be needed, thus paying unnecessary fees.
- Tuberculosis tests – this applies to applicants from abroad, except for in a few countries, who must have a Tuberculosis test scan if they are applying for a visa to come to the UK for more than six months – the fee for TB screening is set by the clinic and can range from £50 to £200 each.
- English Exams – Most applications, e.g. Student Visa or Spouse Visa, require a certain level of English, which cannot be met if the applicant does not come from a limited number of recognised English-speaking countries unless you have an English-taught degree or have passed an English exam from a speciality college, which costs about £150. Please note that this is regardless of whether the applicant has spoken English since childhood as part of their national language, such as in Kenya or India. Suppose the applicant doesn’t have a UK degree. In that case, they will need to sit the exam or obtain a certificate of compatibility from NARIC to meet the English requirement, which costs around £150 but can be reused for other applications.
- Priority – this is an optional service you may have to pay for. Essentially, it is a service to have the visa application considered faster. This costs £575 for Priority service from abroad for a settlement visa and £800 from within the UK (Super Priority Service).
Who will these changes affect?
The rising visa fees in the UK pose a significant financial burden for business owners relying on overseas labour, especially compared to countries like the United States or France, potentially increasing recruitment spending.
This will undoubtedly impact individuals’ decisions regarding whether to visit the UK – given that these fees are already expensive due to the weakness of other currencies.
These fee increases also affect people applying for visas to the UK to reunite with their families. They will affect people already living in the UK, working and paying taxes.
Those worst affected will be migrants already struggling with the cost of living crisis and the punishing effects of the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) visa condition.
How to save on the cost of UK Visa Applications
Although it is difficult to compare like-for-like with other countries such as Australia, America, and Canada, it is fair to say that the UK immigration process is comparably more expensive. However, we have identified ways to avoid paying for optional or additional things applicants don’t need. Here are our top suggestions:
- Switch as soon as possible: each visa has its path to settlement. Thus, applicants should consider swapping to the shortest route wherever possible. For example, if you are on the 10-year partner route, you should consider swapping to the 5-year route as soon as you qualify, as this will reduce the visas you need to apply for before attaining permanent stay.
- Apply for the correct visa: This can save you 1000s of Pounds. For example, if an applicant has the option of applying for a Fiancé Visa or getting married abroad and then applying for a Spouse Visa, opting for getting married abroad and then applying for the Spouse Visa will generally save you from having to apply for two visas in a short period and therefore save you money – of course where you get married requires many other considerations, including the ability of the family to attend.
- Consider a Fee waiver: It is possible to apply for a fee when applying for a visa from within the UK, but this does come with long-term implications, as this often extends the period needed to obtain ILR. For example, visas often have a financial requirement and will switch you from a 5-year route to 10 10-year route if you apply under fee waiver as the visa could only be granted under Human Rights.
- Use NARIC instead of the English exam where possible – many applicants have a foreign degree taught in English; a certificate of compatibility from NARIC can be used for subsequent applications, whereas the English Exam certificates expire in two years. As the cost is the same, applying for the NARIC option makes more sense if possible.
- Hire appropriate help: with most UK visas costing an ‘arm and a leg’ and the process riddled with pitfalls, it is wise to consider seeking advice from qualified UK Immigration experts to assist with the process and give your application the best chances of it being granted the first time, as appeals and reapplications can be even more expensive and complicated.
What is next?
If you are worried about these fee increases and are in a position to make an earlier application, we suggest that you consider applying sooner. Overall, the more effort you put into preparing your application, the smoother and cheaper the road to settlement will be.
The fact remains that for business owners who desperately need to look to the overseas labour market for vacancies, these rises will be a massive increase in recruitment spending. For migrants looking to work in the UK, these fees are significantly higher than in other countries such as the United States or France. It is not unreasonable to predict that most migrant workers will consider working elsewhere.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Immigration Team, who will be happy to assist.
