UK hikes visa fee for visitors, students; will be effective from October 4

The UK Home Office said the changes mean that the cost for a visit visa for less than six months will rise to GBP 115 and the fee for applying for a student visa from outside the UK will rise to GBP 490.  

The British government has declared that a proposed increase in visa costs will take effect on October 4, when visitors from all over the world, including Indians, will pay GBP 15 more for a visit visa that lasts less than six months and GBP 127 more for a student visa.

According to legislation introduced in Parliament on Friday, the fee for a visit visa valid for less than six months will increase to GBP 115, and the fee for a student visa application made from outside the UK will increase to GBP 490, matching the fee for applications made from within the country.

It follows the July announcement by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that the fees and health surcharge paid by visa applicants towards the UK's publicly financed National Health Service (NHS) will "significantly" increase in order to keep up with the nation's public sector salary growth.

At the time, he said, "We are going to raise the fees that we have for immigrants coming to this country when they apply for visas, as well as something called the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is a levy that they pay to use the NHS."

According to him, "all of those fees are going to increase, and that will raise more than GBP 1 billion, so generally speaking, visa application fees will increase significantly, and similarly for the IHS."

The Home Office reported that the majority of work and visit visas would cost 15% more, while priority visas, study visas, and sponsorship certificates would cost at least 20% more. The hike in fees applies across most visa categories, including health and care visa; applications to register and naturalise as a British citizen; fees for up to six months, two, five and 10-year visit visas.

The hike in fees applies across most visa categories, including health and care visa; applications to register and naturalise as a British citizen; fees for up to six months, two, five and 10-year visit visas. The changes are subject to parliamentary approval and are expected to be in force from October 4, the Home Office said.