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on August 21, 2023
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Change is continuing to come swiftly for UK immigration policy this year. And one move that has caused outcry among many has been the Government’s confirmation of monster increases in Home Office immigration fees, which will inevitably impact on a wide range of individuals, as well as their families and employers.
The ‘headline’ change in Home Office fees relates to the immigration health surcharge (IHS), which will see a 66% rise, from £624 a year to £1,035 a year, for the majority of main applicants. However, the Government also confirmed that for “a range of immigration and nationality routes”, including visa and citizenship applications, the Home Office will impose fee increases of at least 15%. The changes, then, are set to deliver a fresh sting to the already strained wallets of a broad range of migrants to – and already in – the UK. However, at the time of typing, we do not yet know when these increases will take effect.
The short answer is yes, as of August 2023, UK visa fees are set to go up again. This change was confirmed in the House of Commons by Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen, who confirmed during a debate on public-sector pay on 13th July that:
The minister justified the hiked fees by stating that they 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.”
One thing that was noticeably absent from the Government’s initial announcement of the updated Home Office fees – including both the increased UK visa application fees and the IHS – was information on when exactly they would apply.
However, some observers have suggested that the timing of the announcement – on 13th July – indicates that the increases could take effect as early as this autumn.
Our experts in UK immigration law at Cranbrook Legal would be inclined to agree with this assessment. If, then, you are interested in applying for a UK visa at any point soon, it might be best to prepare and submit your application now, so that you aren’t risking being subject to the new fees later in 2023.
When you are moving with some urgency to put together and submit a UK visa application, you will want to work with specialists in UK immigration law who represent a “safe bet”. With the comprehensive project-managed approach that we take to our clients’ cases, and our excellent track record of securing approval for our clients at the first attempt, our law firm in central London can be that “safe bet” as you look to begin or continue a rewarding life in the UK. For a more in-depth discussion, please feel free to call 0208 215 0053 now, or to complete and submit our online contact form – after which, we can arrange a free consultation with you.
The pre-increase immigration health surcharge, or IHS, is £624 per adult per year. The discounted rate is £470 per child or student per year.
However, the Government has already confirmed that the IHS main rate will go up to £1,035 per year, and that the discounted rate for students and under-18s will reach £776. This works out as a 66% increase on current fees.
To give a sense of what a hefty financial hit this represents to migrants to the UK, if an adult was applying for a five-year visa now and the fees were remaining the same, they would need to budget for total expenditure of £3,120 over the course of their stay in the country. With the increase that is set to be imposed, this figure now goes up to £5,175, before the migrant even accounts for Home Office visa application fees and other costs. And of course, the rise could be even more painful for families of migrants. In the case of a household of two adults and two children, for example, if the current fees remained in place, the cost for them of paying the IHS would be £10,940 in total over the five years. But under the new fees, they would be required to pay a daunting £18,110 covering the same time period.
But will I need to pay the immigration health surcharge anyway?
From what we know so far, it seems that if you are subject to the immigration health surcharge, you will need to pay the relevant increased rate set out above, once it takes effect (whether that is in the autumn or later).
However, not all migrants to the UK are required to pay the IHS; the exact situation will depend on the applicant’s chosen immigration pathway.
You can normally expect to need to pay the IHS, if you’re submitting an immigration or visa application:
You will not, however, be obliged to pay the IHS if:
The above is not an exhaustive rundown of the circumstances in which someone might be exempt from paying the UK immigration health surcharge. You can find the most up-to-date list of such exemptions on the GOV.UK website, or you are welcome to discuss this with our own central London-based experts in UK immigration law at Cranbrook Legal. Simply call 0208 215 0053 today for further information.
As of the time of us writing this in August 2023, the Home Office fee for an adult to naturalise as a British citizen was £1,330. This consisted of £1,250 for the application itself, and £80 for the citizenship ceremony.
However, to reaffirm what we stated above, the UK Government has signalled that it intends to hike the cost of British citizenship applications by a minimum of 20%.
Again, then, we advise those who expect to apply for British citizenship shortly, to consider doing so prior to the autumn. This will enable them to maximise their chances of being subject to the much cheaper fees regime in place at the moment, rather than the new elevated fees.
Reach out to our experts in UK immigration law now, and you will be able to arrange a free consultation. This will present an opportunity for you to learn more about the possibilities for how we could work with you on a swift and effective British citizenship application.
The UK Government has presented its move to hike immigration fees as being part of its plan to make pay increases in the public sector affordable.
However, questions have been asked as to whether imposing such a greater financial burden on migrants in the UK makes sense, especially given that the UK’s immigration fees already far surpass those in comparable European countries and the United States.
The sheer extent and unpredictability of such increases to UK immigration fees can impose not only considerable financial pressure, but also associated emotional strain on migrants.
Employers in the UK are already turning to “clawback” clauses for their migrant workers, whereby the employer offers to pay the migrant’s visa and immigration health surcharge costs, but these costs need to be repaid in the event of the employee leaving. There has been talk that such hefty rises in immigration fees could drive the more widespread use of “clawback” agreements among employers.
As for the migrants themselves, there are worries that such sharply escalated fees could leave some migrants in a precarious legal situation in the UK, unable to afford to legally extend their stay in the UK due to the Home Office’s fees having been hiked beyond their means.
The impacts of such massive fee increases on the migrants directly affected and the UK as a whole, then, may be complicated and difficult, belying the relative cheapness of the policy as a political move.
Would you like to find out more about how our UK immigration lawyers at Cranbrook Legal could assist you, for a fixed fee that you can budget for to help plan your future life in the UK? If so, please feel free to call us in central London now, on 0208 215 0053.
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