The Home Office made £500m Profit from Immigration Fees in 2018

In a recent investigation carried forth by The Times newspaper in the UK, it has been found that the Home Office has made a profit of £500 million in 2018 from increasing the fees of many UK immigration applications and processes. The research went on to indicate that the Home Office has actually doubled its profits over the last 4 years wherein 2014 the amount of profit gained was £260 million which is almost half of what was gained in 2018.

Immigration Solicitors London state that the immigration system in the UK in unfortunately designed to be as profitable as possible with little to no regards for the applicants who remain at its mercy. The Home Office has, of course, denied this and has insisted that the rise of immigration fees are necessary and are aimed at reducing the burden on UK taxpayers (a population of which are also UK taxpayers).

Immigration Lawyers London confirm that the rise in fees on specific applications has been very steep and now remain unaffordable for many. For example, to make a child citizenship application in 2014 was £669 with the processing cost for the Home Office being only £144. In 2018, the cost to make the same application was £1012 and the processing cost for the Home Office was £372.

Moreover, for an application for indefinite leave to remain, a very common immigration application in the UK, the prices have also soared for applicants. The best immigration Lawyers London confirm that the statistics shown in The Times investigation are more than likely to be 100% accurate, wherein 2014 to make an application for indefinite leave to remain was £1093 with Home Office processing costs of £248. Four years later, in 2018, the fee for applicants to make indefinite leave to remain application had risen to £2389 but Home Office processing costs had in fact dropped to £243. Many would ask how this is justified and our team of immigration solicitors UK are just as suspicious as the applicants who must fork out the money to pay for such applications alongside the general public.

With over three decades of experience in practising UK law and having the status as one of Londons most respected and highly regarded full-service law firms, our team of top immigration lawyers UK will be more than happy to discuss any kind of immigration concern you have in-depth and provide you with the right advice on how to deal with the Home Office. Many in the UK are left vulnerable as a result of their dealings with the Home Office where if an application is filled out incorrectly, it could result in you paying again and forking out even more money for you to achieve your immigration status.