As alluded to in our recent article looking at recruitment issues in the construction sector, here, the Government has officially confirmed that there will be a fee increase of around 15 – 20% across a range of different immigration and nationality services. We have set out a number of the key increases, below:
15% increase will apply to
- application fees for visit visa routes (save for visits for up to 2-years, where a 6% increase will be applied; and
- application fees for all work visa routes (for example, Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility). In certain cases, a proportionally lower increase will be made, to ensure the fee is within the scope of separate legislation.
For example, an entry clearance application fee for a Skilled Worker visa (up to 3 years) will increase from £625 to £719.
20% increase will apply to
- application fees for settlement applications and applications for British citizenship; and
- the fee to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship.
35% increase will apply to
- entry clearance application fees for a Student visa, to align the out of country and in country fees.
The Government has also announced a new 'blanket' charge for priority services used in and out of country. The priority service fee will be aligned at £500, and super priority service at £1,000.
For full details of the confirmed increases, see the Government's official fees table, here.
As set out above, the fee increases will come into effect from the 4 October 2023, together with the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) increase, from £624 to £1,035 per year, which is set to increase later this autumn. Therefore, if you have potential international hires in the pipeline, or if you are considering relocating to the UK, now is the time to do so before the fee hikes come into force.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
