{"id":245297,"date":"2025-05-17T13:52:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T13:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/legal\/briefing-how-expensive-are-uk-immigration-applications-and-is-this-a-problem\/"},"modified":"2025-05-17T13:52:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T13:52:33","slug":"briefing-how-expensive-are-uk-immigration-applications-and-is-this-a-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=245297","title":{"rendered":"Briefing: How expensive are UK immigration applications and is this a problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The cost of making an immigration or nationality application has risen extremely steeply. Annual increases of 20% or 25% per year have become standard<\/a>, but now we\u2019re seeing increases of 120%. An example is the Certificate of Sponsorship fee, which rose from \u00a3239 to \u00a3525 on 9 April 2025.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0current cost<\/a>\u00a0of an application for indefinite leave to remain (aka settlement) is \u00a33,029. The\u00a0actual cost<\/a>\u00a0of processing such an application is \u00a3523, so the Home Office is generating considerable income from each application.<\/p>\n

The cost of settlement is only one of the last steps in a long journey of applications, though. The total costs of applying to enter the UK as a spouse, for example, are far higher once all the different applications and fees are taken into account:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Initial application<\/td>\n\n

\u00a31,938<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Extension application<\/td>\n\n

\u00a31,321<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Immigration health surcharge<\/td>\n\n

\u00a35,175<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Settlement<\/td>\n\n

\u00a33,029<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Naturalisation (including ceremony)<\/td>\n\n

\u00a31,735<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

TOTAL<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

\u00a313,198<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Fees were only introduced for in-country applications in 2003 and the increase only began in earnest in 2006\/07<\/a> (in the very early days of this blog!), when for example a postal application for indefinite leave to remain was increased from \u00a3335 to \u00a3775 and an application for naturalisation as a British citizen from \u00a3200 to \u00a3575.<\/p>\n

The power to charge fees sits in the Immigration Act 2014<\/a>. It\u2019s quite a straightforward process involving approval by both Houses of Parliament and a fees regulation, which is passed by a negative procedure (no vote needed). It requires the consent of the Treasury. In other words, it\u2019s quite easy to change fees.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\n<\/picture>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0updated list<\/a>\u00a0of fees for immigration and nationality applications\u00a0that apply from 1 May 2025 shows no changes, but that\u2019s because the fees were last updated 3 weeks earlier on 9 April 2025. Between April 2024 and April 2025, the cost of family visas increased by \u00a392 and the cost of a settlement application increased by \u00a3144. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Government\u2019s longstanding aim has been to have a largely self-funded borders and immigration system, with the idea being that those who use the immigration system should contribute to its cost. Particularly in the last few years, the maths doesn\u2019t seem to add up and the justifications are incongruous.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen said<\/a> that immigration fees should help (indirectly) fund a pay rise for the police! \u00a0<\/p>\n

[The fee increases] will help to cover more of the cost of the migration and border system, allowing the Home Secretary to divert more funding to police forces to help fund the pay rise for the police.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 2024 the NHS surcharge rose by a massive 66% to \u00a31,035 per person a year (or \u00a3776 for students and children). The surcharge is particularly controversial as migrants pay the cost upfront when they pay for their immigration application, but then they also pay for the NHS through taxes. The revenue from the NHS Surcharge has been allocated to support healthcare funding in the UK.<\/p>\n

There seems little doubt, however, that as far as Ministers are concerned a welcome side effect of the steep fee increases is that this \u201cprices out\u201d migrants of modest means. Those trying to find workarounds face economic hardship, and it becomes more and more likely that high fees push migrants into debt, making them vulnerable and at risk of exploitation.<\/p>\n

For children, the cost of registering as a British citizen is \u00a31,214 but the actual unit cost to the Home Office is \u00a3575. A\u00a0watchdog report<\/a>\u00a0confirms that this is literally prohibitive for unaccompanied children who otherwise qualify for citizenship. The high cost can understandably deter parents who are struggling financially from making applications that would be in the best interests of their children.<\/p>\n

The Government published a white paper<\/a> on 12 May 2025 titled \u2018Restoring Control over the Immigration System\u2019. It sets out radical proposals to cut net migration by making changes to the immigration system and border security.<\/p>\n

One of the proposals is to increase the Immigration Skills Charge by 32%. The skills charge was introduced on 1 April 2017 and is more explicitly and overtly aimed at reducing immigration. It was introduced at a level of \u00a31000 per year per worker and will rise to \u00a31,320. And where will the revenue surplus go? The white paper states:<\/p>\n

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ISC funding will be used at the oncoming Spending Review to support skills funding for priority sectors to upskill the domestic workforce and reduce reliance on migration over the medium term. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But this is not the only cost. Employers also have to purchase and maintain a sponsorship licence and pay sponsor related fees for each worker they sponsor.<\/p>\n

The direct costs soon mount up \u2013 figures underlined cannot be passed onto a sponsored worker and must be borne by the sponsor:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/td>\nSmall employer<\/td>\nLarge employer<\/td>\nEmployee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sponsor licence<\/td>\n\n

\u00a3574<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/td>\n

\n

\u00a31,579<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/td>\n

\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Certificate of sponsorship<\/td>\n\n

\u00a3525<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/td>\n

\n

\u00a3525<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/td>\n

\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Immigration Skills Charge<\/td>\n<\/p>\n

\u00a31,820<\/p>\n

(soon to rise to \u00a32,400)<\/span><\/td>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a35,000<\/p>\n

(soon to rise to \u00a36,600)<\/span><\/td>\n

\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Initial application<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\n

\u00a31,519<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Extension<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\n

\u00a31,751<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

NHS surcharge<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\n

\u00a35,175<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Settlement<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\n

\u00a33,029<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Naturalisation<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n\n

\u00a31,735<\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

TOTAL<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

\u00a32,919<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/td>\n

\n

\u00a37,104<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/td>\n

\n

\u00a313,209<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

The indirect costs are also considerable.\u00a0These fees omit several other elements of friction:<\/p>\n