UNITED KINGDOM – Increased Visa Application Fees Anticipated
On January 11, 2016, the government announced its proposed changes to the fees for visas, immigration and nationality applications for 2016-2017. According to the announcement made by the Home Office, the forthcoming legislation will aim to steadily raise visa fees over the next four years in correspondence with the established maximum levels. The goal of these fee increases is to ultimately reduce taxpayer contributions towards the border, immigration and citizenship system in order to achieve that the system is entirely self-funded by those who use it by 2019-2020.
Specific fee changes are to be published in April but in the meantime, the Home Office released details of the main changes to the visa fees:
- 2% increase for visit, study and work visa fees;
- 25% increase for settlement, residence and nationality application fees; and
- Targeted increase for premium services, such as the priority visa service.
Fees for all sponsorship categories will remain at the current rates. For additional details of the proposed fees for 2016-2017, click here.