Increased visa application fees set to come into effect

The Home Office have announced that the increase in immigration visa fees will come into effect next month.

We reported on the increase in fees back in July. Whilst it was expected that the fees will increase in the Autumn time, we didn’t know when and how soon, however it has been confirmed that the fees will increase from October 4^th 2023.

 

Revised Skilled Worker application fees:

• The certificate of sponsorship fee will rise from £199 to £239
• The In-country application fee will rise from 719 to £827 (3-year visa)
• The In-country application fee will rise from £1,423 to £1,500 (over 3 years)
• The entry clearance application fee will rise from £625 to £719 (3-year visa)
• The entry clearance application fee will rise from £1,235 to £1,420 (over 3 years)
• The entry clearance priority fees (5 working days) will double from £250 to £500

There will also be an increase in visa fees for other visa types, including Global Business Mobility visas.

As for the Immigration Health Surcharge, this is remaining the same for now, however it will be increased by 66% in the very near future. Changing the health surcharge will require Parliament to vote on the proposal, so we will at least have a little warning of this once it is added to the Parliamentary schedule.

 

Steps to consider to help mitigate the imminent increase in fees:

• If you are planning on sponsoring somebody, we recommend that you get the ball rolling as soon as possible. The increase in fees is significant, and it is worth trying to take advantage of the lower application fees whilst possible.
• Consider setting up a claw-back arrangement to recover the immigration fees (although be mindful that you cannot recover the immigration skills charge or the certificate of sponsorship fee).
• Rather than doing a single 5-year visa application, split it up into an initial 3-year visa followed by a 2-year extension. Whilst this is more expensive in the long run, the cost will be spread out so that there is no large payment in one go.

 

Change in service provider for the delivery of Biometric Residence Permits (‘BRP’)

As you may be aware, TNT/FedEx are the Home Office’s service provider for delivering BRPs. From Monday, 18 September 2023, the Home Office will change their delivery provider to the Royal Mail Group. The service will continue as normal, however the key benefit is that a signature will no longer be required to receive the BRP, it will simply be posted through the letterbox. If delivery is not possible, the recipient will also have the option of collecting the BRP card from a Royal Mail depot, which will make the process significantly more user-friendly.

Note that once the BRP has been printed and collected by Royal Mail for delivery, the delivery address cannot be changed.

 

The next steps

For more information, please contact Chris Harber, Head of Immigration, or Suzanna Ghazal, Solicitor. Alternatively, learn more on our private immigration and business immigration services.