New immigration and nationality fees from 18 March 2016

UK Visas and Immigration has announced new application and service fees. In January, the Home Office introduced legislation to set the maximum amounts it can charge for visa, immigration and nationality applications over the next 4 years.

The Home Office laid further legislation in Parliament, which will make changes to specific application fees. The new legislation will come into effect on 18 March.

The main changes are:

• Visas offered to workers and students, will be increased by 2%
• 2% increase will apply to all visit
• Increase of up to 25% will apply to settlement, residence and nationality fees
• Increase of up to 33% for optional premium services offered by the Home Office such as the super premium service and priority visa services overseas
• Fees for all sponsorship categories will be held at the current rates.

These changes ensure that the Home Office can achieve a self-funding system, whilst continuing to provide a competitive level of service, and a fees structure that remains attractive to businesses, migrants and visitors.