From the fourth of October, it will cost more to travel to the United Kingdom as a tourist, visitor, or student. According to a statement from the British government, visitors from all over the world, including Indians, will have to pay an additional 1,543 (GBP 15) for a visit visa to the UK that lasts less than six months and 13,070 (GBP 127) for a student visa.
The UK Home Office has announced that the price for a UK Visit Visa for less than six months will increase to 11,835 rs (GBP 115) and the cost for applying for a UK Student Visa from outside the UK will increase to 15,428 rs (GBP 490) – to match the price charged for in-country applications.
Most work and visit visa fees will go up by 15%, and priority visa fees, study visa fees, and certificates of sponsorship would go up by at least 20%, according to the Home Office.
Parliamentary permission is required for the adjustments to the UK Visit Visa and UK Student Visa fees, which are anticipated to take effect on October 4th.
The action follows the July announcement by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that visa applicants’ fees and health surcharges for the UK’s publicly financed National Health Service (NHS) would “significantly” increase to keep pace with the public sector wage increase.
At the time, he declared, “We are going to raise the fees that we have for immigrants coming to this country when they apply for visas and, in fact, something called the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is the levy that they pay to access the NHS.
“All of those fees are going to increase, and that will rise over GBP 1 billion,” he added. “There will be a significant increase in the cost of applying for visas overall, as well as a similar increase in the cost of the IHS.”
The Home Office reported that the majority of work and visit visas would cost 15% more, and priority visas, study visas, and certificates of sponsorship would cost at least 20% more.
“The Home Office’s capacity to manage an efficient immigration and nationality system depends critically on income from fees imposed. The Home Office stated this week that careful consideration is made when establishing fees to help lower the financing contribution from British taxpayers, while continuing to provide a service that remains appealing to people desiring to work in the UK and enable greater prosperity for all.
The increase in fees affects the majority of visa categories, including health and care visas, applications to register and naturalise as British citizens, and fees for visits lasting up to six months, two, five, and ten years.
The majority of fees for entry clearance, some requests for permission to enter and remain in the UK, including those for work and study, fees for permission to enter and remain in the country indefinitely, fees for sponsorship certificates, and fees for confirmation of enrollment in courses are also affected by the increase.
The Home Office stated that the modifications, which require parliamentary approval, will go into effect on October 4.
