Visa fee increase
As part of the public sector pay debate on 13 July, the UK government announced that it had accepted the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies, including the proposal to increase visa and Immigration Health Surcharge fees (IHS) Public Sector Pay – Hansard – UK Parliament The significant visa fee increases aim to raise £1 billion to fund the pay raise for public sector workers. John Glen, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, called it the most responsible way to balance the demands of the public sector workers and the needs of the economy.
In the same House of Commons debate on public sector pay, John Glen, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said:
“… we will increase fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming here to live, work and study at a time of record high migration numbers. Specifically, that means increasing the cost of work visas and visit visas by 15%, and increasing the cost of study visas, certificates of sponsorship, settlement, citizenship, wider entry clearance, leave to remain and priority visas by at least 20%. We are also equalising costs for students and those using a priority service, so that people pay the same whether they apply from within the UK or from outside the UK. That will help to cover more of the cost of the migration and border system, allowing the Home Secretary to divert more funding to police forces to help fund the pay rise for the police.”
Whilst Serving Personnel and their families and exempt from paying the IHS, they will still be liable for the increase in visa fees. We anticipate the fees to be increased by 20%+ and for them to be introduced in early October. If you are in a position to submit an application, for example, you have been considering applying for spousal or children’s visas or for naturalisation/citizenship applications, and you meet the requirements, then please contact us at immigration@nff.org.uk We can support you with these applications to try and beat the increase.
Posted on: 6th September, 2023
