Just when employers thought the dust had settled after last year’s fee increases, the UK Home Office yesterday (31 March 2026) released a new tariff that will come into force in one week’s time.
![Home Office confirms fresh hike to immigration application fees from 8 April 2026]()
For organisations that would rather not wrestle with last-minute calculations or risk incomplete filings, VisaHQ can step in as an end-to-end partner: its UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) tracks every fee change in real time and provides streamlined tools for preparing, checking, and submitting LTR, ILR, and naturalisation applications—helping companies and their assignees stay compliant while keeping costs predictable.
The cost of a typical Limited Leave to Remain (work or family route) application will jump to £4,013.50—an £86 rise—while Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) will surge by £197 to £3,426. Naturalisation as a British citizen also edges higher, to £1,709. Although some child nationality fees have been trimmed, most corporate mobility managers will be focused on the sharp uptick in sponsored-worker extensions and settlement costs that many expatriates will be hitting during 2026–27. The Home Office defends the rises as “reflecting the true cost of processing” and points out that fees have remained broadly flat in nominal terms since 2024. Migrant-rights NGO We Belong retorts that LTR fees have ballooned 500 % since 2014, far outstripping inflation and placing “crippling” burdens on young people who grew up in the UK but still need visas. For businesses, higher fees will directly feed into assignment cost projections and create pressure to renegotiate mobility packages. Companies using a policy of reimbursing ILR fees for long-term assignees should factor in an extra £200 per applicant, plus knock-on increases to the Immigration Health Surcharge already scheduled for October. Practical tips: (1) submit any in-country extension applications before 7 April where possible; (2) update cost-estimate tools used by talent-acquisition and finance teams; and (3) communicate the changes clearly to affected employees to avoid last-minute panic.
For organisations that would rather not wrestle with last-minute calculations or risk incomplete filings, VisaHQ can step in as an end-to-end partner: its UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) tracks every fee change in real time and provides streamlined tools for preparing, checking, and submitting LTR, ILR, and naturalisation applications—helping companies and their assignees stay compliant while keeping costs predictable.
The cost of a typical Limited Leave to Remain (work or family route) application will jump to £4,013.50—an £86 rise—while Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) will surge by £197 to £3,426. Naturalisation as a British citizen also edges higher, to £1,709. Although some child nationality fees have been trimmed, most corporate mobility managers will be focused on the sharp uptick in sponsored-worker extensions and settlement costs that many expatriates will be hitting during 2026–27. The Home Office defends the rises as “reflecting the true cost of processing” and points out that fees have remained broadly flat in nominal terms since 2024. Migrant-rights NGO We Belong retorts that LTR fees have ballooned 500 % since 2014, far outstripping inflation and placing “crippling” burdens on young people who grew up in the UK but still need visas. For businesses, higher fees will directly feed into assignment cost projections and create pressure to renegotiate mobility packages. Companies using a policy of reimbursing ILR fees for long-term assignees should factor in an extra £200 per applicant, plus knock-on increases to the Immigration Health Surcharge already scheduled for October. Practical tips: (1) submit any in-country extension applications before 7 April where possible; (2) update cost-estimate tools used by talent-acquisition and finance teams; and (3) communicate the changes clearly to affected employees to avoid last-minute panic.
