UK Visa Fee Increases as of March 29th 2019

The UK is a country that has one of the highest visa fee rates in the world and it is no secret that applications can cost an ample amount often leaving families in economic hardship due to staggering visa fee costs.  Additionally, as a result of a complicated application process, many also lose their visa fee due to mistakes in their applications.

As a result of new UK parliament legislation, from March 29th 2019 there will be a series of price changes for a number of UK visa applications which have been outlined below.

Online UK Visa Applications (Visitors, Workers & Students)

Individual application for those looking to visit, work or study a course in the UK can now be made using an online application form on the home office website.

The key increases for different visa categories (as of March 29th 2019) are as follows.

• Six-month short-term visit – A £2 rise from £93 to £95
• 2-year long-term visit visa – An £11 rise from £350 to £361
• 5-year long term visit visa – A £19 rise from £636 to £655
• 10-year long term visit  – A £24 rise from £798 to £822
• Academic visitor & private medical visas – £4 fee increase, Private Medical Treatment visas have risen from £186 to £190

There have also been a number of fee increases for some UK Priority Visa Services, such as:

• Priority Visa – The Non-Settlement service fee has been set at £220
• Super Priority services have risen by £190, from £610 to £800.
• In-country Priority services have risen by £23, from £477 to £500.
• Out-of-country Priority Visa’s have risen by £8 rise, from £212 to £220.

Fee increases for other categories of UK Visas

In the same changes of UK immigration legislation, the Home Office has outlined a number of other cost increases, these are as follows.

• Electronic Visa Waiver – A £15 rise, from £15 to £30.
• Border Force Fast-Track service at Heathrow Terminals 2, 3 and 4 – An increase of £1.30 for from £3.90 to £5.20.
• Border Force ‘above-basic services’ will rise in June from the current £53.08 hourly rate and will require two new fees – A fee of £57.33 has been set to reflect administrative functions provided, including services to other government departments; ALSO, a fee of £77.40 has been set to accommodate the increased premium nature of commercial services.
• There are also 2 New Tier 1 fees for the UK innovator and start-up visas, which replace the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) routes. Fees for these new visa products will be set at the same rate as the visas they are replacing, initially.
• Finally, there will also be a new fee of £244 applicable for those who want entry clearance to enter the island of Jersey under the new Temporary Seasonal Work Permit arrangements.