UK to hike visa fee from today: What it means for Indians

The UK Home Office notification on the fee hike says the aim of the increase is to achieve a “self-funding system” while continuing to provide a “competitive level of service”.

The British government’s decision to raise visa application fees across categories from Friday will have a significant impact on Indians, who travel to the United Kingdoms in big numbers.

Representative picture of students going to UK to study.

In 2015, 85,403 Indians got entry clearance visas to the UK and were second to 93,076 Chinese travelling to the country. Work permit, skilled migration, students visa holders all require entry clearance before they enter the UK.

The impact of the hike will be felt across the board. The fee of “visas linked most closely to economic growth, such as those offered to workers and students” will go up by 2%. So is the case with tourist visa fee. Applications for settlement, residence and nationality fee would also see a steep hike of 25%.

Read | UK to increase visa fees for nearly all categories from March 18

The fee for intra-company transfer visa used by most Indian information technology companies to get their workers posted in the UK will go up to £1,151.

The fee for a tourist visa for six months will go up from £85 to £87. Tourist visa fee for two years will see a hike of £6 to £330 and for five years it will be £600 from £588 and for 10 years it will be £752 from £737.

The UK Home Office notification on the fee hike says the aim of the increase is to achieve a “self-funding system” while continuing to provide a “competitive level of service”. The UK government also said the “fees structure that remains attractive to businesses, migrants and visitors”, is their aim.

Read | New tough UK visa restrictions to hit Indian IT professionals