The cost of moving people to, and around, the United Kingdom is about to rise again. In a statutory instrument laid before Parliament late on Friday, the Home Office confirmed that almost every immigration and nationality fee will go up from Monday 8 April 2026. The changes apply worldwide and cover work, study, visit, settlement and citizenship routes, as well as the charges that employers pay for sponsor licences and certificates of sponsorship. For corporate mobility teams the headline numbers are stark. A Skilled Worker visa of up to three years will rise from £719 to £769; the Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker fee moves from £1,635 to £1,743; and the application fee for a medium-to-large sponsor licence increases from £1,579 to £1,682. Settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) tips over the £3,200 mark for the first time, jumping from £3,029 to £3,226 per applicant. Nationality fees are also affected, with the standard naturalisation fee climbing to £1,652. Although the government points to inflation and cost-recovery principles, the scale and timing of the rise have frustrated employers. HR directors who spoke to Global Mobility News said the announcement was **“too late for many April transfer windows”** and warned of budget overruns on graduate intakes already in progress.
![UK visa, settlement and sponsor fees to increase 6-7 % on 8 April 2026]()
For organisations and individuals now scrambling to adjust, VisaHQ can simplify the process. Its United Kingdom portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) provides up-to-date fee calculators, deadline alerts and a dashboard for tracking multiple applications, helping HR teams and travellers file quickly and avoid costly last-minute surprises.
Immigration advisers are urging companies to file extension and settlement applications this weekend where possible, and to accelerate assignments whose start dates can be advanced. Individuals who have secured Certificates of Sponsorship but not yet submitted their visa applications are also being told to act before midnight on 7 April. Beyond the headline figures, the fee order introduces two structural changes. First, it harmonises in-country and out-of-country application fees for several routes, subtly removing the long-standing discount for filing in the UK. Second, it abolishes paper payment options for most categories, meaning employers will need corporate credit cards with higher spending limits or pre-funded Home Office accounts. What does this mean in practice? Companies budgeting £10,000 for a family relocation under the Skilled Worker route will now need closer to £10,700 once Immigration Health Surcharge, priority processing and biometric fees are added. Mobility managers should review assignment cost templates, update relocation allowances and warn assignees whose start dates fall after 8 April that their net packages may be revised. The hike also underscores the value of “front-loading” costs: accelerating a move by just a few days could save several hundred pounds on visa fees alone.
For organisations and individuals now scrambling to adjust, VisaHQ can simplify the process. Its United Kingdom portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) provides up-to-date fee calculators, deadline alerts and a dashboard for tracking multiple applications, helping HR teams and travellers file quickly and avoid costly last-minute surprises.
Immigration advisers are urging companies to file extension and settlement applications this weekend where possible, and to accelerate assignments whose start dates can be advanced. Individuals who have secured Certificates of Sponsorship but not yet submitted their visa applications are also being told to act before midnight on 7 April. Beyond the headline figures, the fee order introduces two structural changes. First, it harmonises in-country and out-of-country application fees for several routes, subtly removing the long-standing discount for filing in the UK. Second, it abolishes paper payment options for most categories, meaning employers will need corporate credit cards with higher spending limits or pre-funded Home Office accounts. What does this mean in practice? Companies budgeting £10,000 for a family relocation under the Skilled Worker route will now need closer to £10,700 once Immigration Health Surcharge, priority processing and biometric fees are added. Mobility managers should review assignment cost templates, update relocation allowances and warn assignees whose start dates fall after 8 April that their net packages may be revised. The hike also underscores the value of “front-loading” costs: accelerating a move by just a few days could save several hundred pounds on visa fees alone.
