The increase to the cost of most types of visas and the immigration health surcharge, announced by the Government in July, will almost certainly be implemented when Parliament resits in the Autumn.

The Chief Secretary, John Glen stated, in a recent parliamentary debate on public sector pay increases, "we will increase fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming here to live, work and study at a time of record high migration numbers. Specifically, that means increasing the cost of work visas and visit visas by 15%, and increasing the cost of study visas, certificates of sponsorship, settlement, citizenship, wider entry clearance, leave to remain and priority visas by at least 20%. We are also equalising costs for students and those using a priority service, so that people pay the same whether they apply from within the UK or from outside the UK. That will help to cover more of the cost of the migration and border system, allowing the Home Secretary to divert more funding to police forces to help fund the pay rise for the police."

The immigration health surcharge (IHS) introduced in April 2015, enables immigrants to access the NHS. Immigrants holding private health insurance are also obliged to pay the IHS as not all medical procedures are covered by health insurance. Currently IHS costs £624 for an adult and £470 for a child which will rise to £1,035 per adult and £776 per child per year.

Kavina Munja, commented "There is a window of opportunity to enable applications to be made before the sharp rise in the initial costs. It is recommended that an application is made as soon as possible. It is strongly suspected that the Government will enact these changes as soon as Parliament reconvenes in September." Kavina pointed out "an example of the additional charges would mean that a family of four, two adults and two children, will have to pay £18,110 over the course of five years in addition to the initial fees for the application. Therefore, it would be prudent to make an application before the new charges are invoked and take advantage of the current costs"

There are reductions in the visa fees for skilled workers, dependent on the role, the length of time the applicant intends to remain in the UK and the type of visa. If the applicant will be working in a role where employers have difficulty in recruiting in the UK due to a lack of expertise or skills in the UK – a shortage of occupation role – and the role appears on the Shortage Occupation List, as set out by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) or the applicant is applying for a Global Business Mobility (GBM) visa that enables a foreign business that is planning to set up a branch or subsidiary in the UK two apply for visas for up to five key employees to come to the UK as an advanced cohort, the fees will be lower.

Giambrone & Partners knowledgeable immigration lawyers have a wealth of experience in assisting individuals, as well as their families, to obtain visas entitling them to live, work and study in the UK. Including temporary workers and applicants seeking indefinite leave to remain. Our lawyers strongly urge applicants to act as soon as they can to avoid the increased charges for their initial application.

Kavina Munja has considerable experience related to immigration applications and has a comprehensive range of knowledge and expertise. She has successfully dealt with complex immigration appeals in the jurisdiction of England and Wales.

Kavina can assist clients with the preparation of applications, working closely with the authorities and ensuring that there are no errors or omissions that may impact on the success of the application.

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