UK visa costs will ‘significantly’ increase- Indians must pay
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Salma Hossein
- . July 15, 2023
- . Update: July 15, 2023 7:13 pm
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a significant increase in the fees and health surcharges that visa applicants, including Indians, must pay to the publicly funded National Health Service (NHS). Although the government has not yet confirmed it, reports indicate that the increase will probably be between 15% and 20%.
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Why is Rishi Sunak promoting a price increase?
Teachers, police officers, internists, and other public sector employees are included in this adjustment, which aims to support the country’s public sector wage increase. A general increase of 5 to 7% across the board was confirmed by Sunak. However, he emphasized that due to worries about inflation, the government would not rely on increased borrowing to cover these expenses. As a result, alternate funding sources would be looked for.
We did two things to find this money, PM Sunak. He says we’ll raise visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which immigrants must pay to use the NHS.
Sunak argued that the decision was “entirely right” because these fees had not recently increased. And stated that the increase is justified given that costs have increased since the previous edition.
So, to find this money, we have done two things. The first is that, according to him, we will raise the fees we charge immigrants who enter the country when they apply for visas and for something known as the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is a fee they must pay to use the NHS.
He continued: “Across the board, visa application fees will increase significantly, and similarly for the IHS. All of those fees are going to go up, and that will raise over GBP 1 billion.”
Sunak argued that the decision was “entirely right” because these fees had not recently increased. And stated that the increase is justified given that costs have increased since the previous addition.
How much do you still owe?
According to FREETH, the government intends to increase work visa costs by 15%. A 20% increase will be made to all other visa fees.
As a result, you must pay £718 (roughly 77,147) if you intend to immigrate to the UK on a skilled worker visa and a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for three years or less. At the moment, this type of visa costs £625.
Immigration health fees have increased significantly since they were first introduced in 2015 at a rate of £200 per application. It doubled to £400 in 2018 and increased further to £624 for adults in 2020 (£470 for applicants who qualify for a discount). The government just recently announced a significant increase, bringing the annual surcharge to a total of £1,035 per person and increasing the discounted rate to a total of £776. The importance of FREETH is also emphasized.
Particularly when compared to nations like the United States or France, the rising fees for migrants seeking work in the UK place a significant financial burden on business owners who depend on foreign labor, potentially driving up recruitment costs.
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When can we anticipate the new visa increase?
The UK Home Office is anticipated to announce all the specifics of which visa categories will experience increases and when the new, higher rates will go into effect in the upcoming months.
