UK Government Signals Sharp Increases to Visa and Immigration Fees

The cost of coming to the United Kingdom is set to rise steeply after the Home Office quietly confirmed a new round of fee increases across almost every immigration category. A Glasgow-based immigration practice, Five Star International, reports that the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will jump from £624 to £1,035 per adult year (and from £470 to £776 for children and students), while core visa application fees will climb by “at least 15-20 per cent.” Although the Home Office has yet to publish the statutory regulations that will give effect to the rises, practitioners expect them to take force “within weeks,” echoing the pattern seen before last October’s surcharge hike. For employers, the hike means higher upfront costs for every sponsored worker. A three-year Skilled Worker visa currently costs £885 when filed in-country; under the new scale the same application will be £943, before sponsorship fees, the Immigration Skills Charge and legal costs are added. Sponsor-licence fees themselves will edge up to £611 for small sponsors and £1,682 for medium/large organisations, adding to the compliance budget for HR teams. Family and settlement routes are also affected. A partner’s entry-clearance visa will rise to £2,064 while the fee for indefinite leave to remain will pass the £3,200 mark. The only reduction concerns child citizenship registration, which drops from £1,214 to £1,000 after long-running litigation over the fee’s proportionality. Even short-term visitors will feel the squeeze: the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) introduced last year will rise from £16 to £20—an immediate 25 per cent increase on the mandatory digital permit for many visa-waiver nationals.



At this juncture, travellers and HR departments alike may find specialist support invaluable. VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) streamlines UK visa applications, offers real-time fee calculators and alerts users to regulatory changes, helping individuals, corporates and relocation teams stay ahead of escalating costs.

Immigration advisers are urging businesses with live recruitment to submit applications as quickly as possible. “Every week’s delay now risks hundreds of pounds in extra Home Office charges,” warns Hamza Ali, Head of Corporate Immigration at Five Star. Companies planning multiple transfers under the Global Business Mobility routes are advised to front-load applications before the new tariff lands. HR teams should also review assignment budgets and update cost projections for 2026 relocation programmes. For mobility managers the broader message is clear: the UK remains one of the most expensive destinations in the G20 for sponsored talent. With political pressure to reduce net migration still high, few expect fee inflation to slow. Organisations reliant on international hires should build annual fee uplifts into long-term workforce planning and consider alternative pathways—such as the India Young Professionals Scheme or the new Design Endorsement route—where lower charges may apply.