The British government has declared that a proposed increase in visa fees will take effect on October 4, when visitors from all over the world, including Indians, will pay GBP 15 more for a visit visa that lasts less than six months and GBP 127 more for a student visa.

According to legislation introduced in Parliament on Friday, the fee for a visit visa valid for less than six months will increase to GBP 115, and the fee for a student visa application made from outside the UK will increase to GBP 490, matching the fee for applications made from within the country.

It follows the July announcement by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that the fees and health surcharge paid by visa applicants toward the UK’s publicly financed National Health Service (NHS) would “significantly” increase in order to keep up with the nation’s public sector salary increase.

At the time, he declared, “We are going to raise the fees that we have for immigrants coming to this country when they apply for visas, as well as something called the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is a levy that they pay to access the NHS.

According to him, “all of those fees are going to increase, and that will raise more than GBP 1 billion, so generally speaking, visa application fees will increase significantly, and similarly for the IHS.”

The Home Office reported that the majority of work and visit visas would cost 15% more, and priority visas, study visas, and sponsorship certificates would cost at least 20% more.

“The Home Office’s capacity to manage a viable immigration and nationality system is critically dependent on income from fees imposed. The Home Office stated this week that careful consideration is made when establishing fees to help lower the financing contribution from British taxpayers, while continuing to provide a service that remains appealing to people who seek to work in the UK and encourage greater prosperity for all.

The increase in costs is applicable to the majority of visa types, including health and care visas, applications to register and naturalize as British citizens, and payments for visits lasting up to six months, two, five, and ten years.

The increase also affects the majority of fees for entry clearance, some requests for permission to work or study in the UK, fees for permission to enter and remain in the country indefinitely, and fees for sponsorship certificates and confirmation of enrollment in courses.

The Home Office stated that the modifications are pending parliamentary approval and are anticipated to take effect on October 4.

Source- Travel biz
Link- https://travelbizmonitor.com/uk-to-hike-visa-fee-for-visitors-students-from-oct-4/