UK Visit Visa, Student Visa Fee Increased: The New Fee Details

Web Desk — The UK authorities have announced an increase in the student visa and visit visa fee, effective from next month.

The study visa application fee for a student from outside the UK is set to increase by 127 GBP from October 4. Likewise, the student visa application fee would be 490 GBP to match the amount charged from in-country applicants, according to the UK Home Office.

Addressing concerns amongst the aspiring students, the Home Office says that the fee increase is subject to parliamentary approval and will take effect from October 4.

As per the details available, the UK Visit Visa fee for under six months will be increased by 15 GBP, and from next month the fee will be £115.

According to the government, the changes announced do not include the planned increase to the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), scheduled to be introduced later in the autumn.

With these announcements, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has fulfilled what he said earlier that the fees and health surcharge paid towards the UK’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS) by visa applicants are set to rise “significantly” to match the country’s public sector wage increase.

Sunak has been facing pressure following an independent review of pay for different professionals. The premier had confirmed in July a hike between 5 and 7 percent across the board, stressing that additional funding would come from somewhere else.

The British Premier told reporters that to pay more to the public sector workers, the extra money has to come from somewhere else. He said more borrowing for this purpose would just make inflation worse.

He said the government was going to increase the charges for migrants who were coming to this country when they apply for visas and indeed something called the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is the levy that foreigners pay to access the NHS.

The increase in fees, he said, will raise over GBP 1 billion, adding that the UK visa application fees are going to go up significantly and similarly for the IHS.

Justifying the increase, Sunak said this was “entirely right” as these fees have not been increased recently.

The British government has made this announcement amid demands by junior doctors who started a five-day strike on Thursday after their demand for a 35 percent pay hike was not accepted.