Resources Latest news Home Office increases visa fees in a cost of living crisis From 4 October 2023, the government has increased the cost of most UK visa fees, in some cases by as much as 35%. The government also announced that the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will rise by 66% to £1,035 a year by next year. Immigration fees were already hugely expensive, forcing many people in our communities into financial precarity just to live, study or work in this country. Increasing visa fees for people making their home in the UK is unfair, divisive and dangerous, especially during a cost of living crisis that is making life tougher for all of us. It's especially unconscionable given recent research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that over 1.3 million people including 355,000 children who moved to the UK are facing destitution. High visa costs are already leaving families without cash for essentials, living month to month just to save for a visa. These costs are especially difficult for families who want to permanently settle in the UK, where they have to pay huge sums to reapply every two or so years, for up to a decade. Too many children are growing up in families that are walking a financial tightrope because of these requirements. The government has rushed through these increases, which are far above the rate of inflation. Some of the key increases are outlined below. They include a 15% increase to most work and visitor fees, a 35% increase to the student visa fee for people applying from overseas, and 20% increases to fees for settlement and British citizenship. Visa type Cost before 4 October 2023 Cost after 4 October 2023 % increase First spouse or partner visa (for partners coming to the UK for the first time) £1,538 £1,846 20% Spouse or partner visa extension (for people already in the UK applying to stay) £1,048 £1,048 0% Applying for a visa to stay with your child who is British or has lived in the UK for over 7 years £1,538 £1,846 20% ‘Skilled Worker’ visa – applications made from outside the UK, visa valid for less than three years £625 £719 15% ‘Skilled Worker’ visa – applications made from inside the UK, visa valid for less than three years £719 £827 15% ‘Skilled Worker’ visa – applications made from outside the UK, visa valid for more than three years £1,235 £1,420 15% ‘Skilled Worker’ visa – applications made from inside the UK, visa valid for more than three years £1,423 £1,500 5% Indefinite Leave to Remain £2,404 £2,885 20% Seasonal worker visa £259 £298 15% Applying to join a loved one who is a refugee in the UK £388 £404 4% British citizenship £1,250 £1,500 20% Read our guide to applying for help if you can’t afford the fee to apply based on your human rights Join our webinar about applying for support People making their home in the UK already had to pay thousands of pounds in application fees and health surcharge (an extra charge for accessing healthcare) every 30 months in order to retain their most basic rights, like the right to work and to rent a home. Many people will have had to pay over £10,000 in visa fees and associated costs by the time they reach settlement. For families, the costs will be many times higher. Now, the Home Office is further punishing people who choose to make the UK their home by massively increasing the amount they need to pay, just to access their basic rights. It’s a decision that will have a disproportionate impact on working class people of colour. The consequences of not being able to pay are dire. A person who doesn’t apply because they cannot afford the application fee faces becoming undocumented, meaning they would lose the right to work, to rent a home, to access healthcare safely – simply put, they would lose the right and ability to exist safely in the place they call home. These increases mean that the Home Office is making hundreds of pounds in profit from people applying to live in the UK. For example, people applying to stay in the UK with their partner will now pay nearly £2000 in fees for an application that costs the Home Office just £366 to process. As well as the increases highlighted above, the Home Office is also expected to increase the health surcharge from £624 per year to an eye-watering £1,035 per year, adding a huge additional burden to people applying to stay in the UK. This discriminatory charges migrants twice to use the NHS, despite being the backbone of our health and public services JCWI is working with others to resist this latest attack on people who move. We helped to coordinate a joint statement about the increases, signed by over 80 labour unions and migrants’ rights organisations, and will be pushing politicians to resist the changes. If you are worried about not being able to afford visa application fees, please read our guide to fee waivers, which allow people who cannot pay the application fee to apply for a visa. If you are in the UK without status (also called being undocumented, without papers or not having a valid visa), find out how you can access free, confidential immigration advice from our expert lawyers. Guide if you can’t afford a visa fee Access advice if you’re undocumented Manage Cookie Preferences