April at 8.30am. We wish you a happy Easter.
In today's blog post we will comment on the recent announcement by the UK government to increase visa fees across a range of categories and the potential repercussions this may bring.
On the 11th of January the government set out its list of proposed changes to the fees associated with visa, settlement and nationality applications for the year 2016-2017. Within this new legislation the government also set out the maximum fees that the home office can charge during the next four years. However, the government did also stress that there was, currently, no plan to charge the maximum figures outlined in the proposals.
The idea behind the fee spike is to reduce the amount of money through which the UK taxpayer subsidises the broader border, immigration and citizenship system. The government state that by 2019-2020 the current system will be self-sufficient and not rely on taxpayer contributions to fund it.
Below we have outlined some of the proposed fee increases. Whilst these are provisional and only include the maximum rate, the actual rates are thought to be slightly lower.
Overall, whilst changes to visit, study and work visas will see a small increase; other applications are set to see a greater increase. Whilst it is understandable that the government seek to move the burden of paying for immigration services from the state to a self funding model, the rise itself could be seen as the latest in a series of legislation that make immigration (whatever the reason) stricter.
For a full list of fee changes visit http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111142691/article/9 for more information.
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