Increase in Home Office Fees Announced

On 13 July 2023, the UK Government announced that Immigration Health Surcharge payments will be increased. This decision comes in the context of the public sector pay review, and the increase is aimed at offsetting the cost of public sector pay rises. This is the first immigration fee increase since April 2018, with fees having been frozen for the past five years.

The Immigration Health Surcharge is paid as part of a UK visa application. It permits visa holders to utilise the National Health Service in the UK during the validity of their immigration permission.

It is yet to be officially confirmed when this change will be implemented but the Immigration Health Surcharge is likely to increase to £1,035, and the discounted rate for students and children under 18 will increase to £776. There has also been an indication that the fees across the immigration and nationality routes will increase. It is expected that work visa and visit visa costs will increase by 15%, and other immigration fees for categories across the board will increase by 20%. This is primarily to increase the contributions to the UK economy and to equalise the costs of applications made from outside the UK and within the UK.

Given these changes it is expected that the visa fees for a single applicant applying from outside of the UK for a 3-year Skilled Worker visa, will increase from approximately £7,000 to £9,000.

Once further announcements on this matter are released by the Home Office, we will notify our clients of the official costs and implementation dates. Although, we expect these fee changes to be introduced within the next couple of weeks.

For any questions or support in relation to the increase of the Immigration Health Surcharge, please contact your Magrath Sheldrick LLP advisor for further information.