The Home Office’s announcement on the prices of the new
visas had an over 600% per cent increment.
The increase, the government said, would enable it to pay
for “vital services and allow more funding to be prioritised for public sector
pay rises”, adding that the review would take effect on October 4.
The announcement was made known in a statement by the UK
government, “New visa fees set to come into effect next month’ published on its
website, gov.uk, on Friday, following legislation being laid in parliament on
Friday.
“The changes mean that the cost for a visit visa for less
than six months is rising by £15 (N14,592.70) to £115 (N111,878.28 ), while the
fee for applying for a student visa from outside the UK will rise by £127
(N123,537.58) to £490 (N476,677.59), to equal the amount charged for in-country
applications,” the statement partly read.
Recall that in July, the government announced a 15 per cent
increase in the cost of most work and visit visas, and an increase of at least
20 per cent in the cost of priority visas, study visas and certificates of
sponsorship.
The statement further read, “Income from fees charged plays
a vital role in the Home Office’s ability to run a sustainable immigration and
nationality system. Careful consideration is given when setting fees to help
reduce the funding contribution from British taxpayers, whilst continuing to
provide a service that remains attractive to those wishing to work in the UK
and support broader prosperity for all.”
The changes, according to checks by Saturday PUNCH, include
fees for up to six months, two-, five- and 10-year visit visas.
The majority of fees for entry clearance and certain
applications for leave to remain in the UK, including those for work and study
were also increased.
Also increased were the fees for indefinite leave to enter
and indefinite leave to remain; convention travel document and stateless
person’s travel document; health and care visa; fees in relation to
certificates of sponsorship and confirmation of acceptance for studies; the in
and out of country fee for the super-priority service and the out of country
fee for the priority service.
It noted that the settlement priority service would be
reduced so it would be aligned with the cost of using the priority service.
Applications to register and naturalise as a British citizen and the fee for
the User Pays Visa Application service were also increased.
However, the statement noted that subject to parliamentary
approval, the immigration and nationality fees would increase from October 4.
“Today’s changes do not include the planned increase to the
Immigration Health Surcharge, which is scheduled to be introduced later in the
Autumn,” it added.
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