The Home Office have recently declared that there will be various fee increases for visa applications as of 6th April 2015. Traditionally, the fee increases take place annually and the Home Office publish unofficial figures beforehand. This year’s indicative fees highlight an increase in the majority of applications.
Among those increases, 5 year visit visas are expected to go up from £544 to £588, Tier 2 general, ICT – long term staff, sport & MoR visas, could increase from £514 to £564, Tier 1 investor Residence Permits could cost £1,500 as opposed to the current fee £1,093, whereas visa applications from overseas may go up from £874 to £1,500.
A Tier 2 Certificate of Sponsorship is expected to cost £199, as opposed to the current fee of £184.
This year’s indicative fees have not only seen increases but also fees remaining the same, such as Tier 2 Shortage Occupation applications.
In a few rare cases, there have also been decreases in fees, for example Tier 1 Exceptional Talent applications, which are likely to decrease from £1,093 to £562. This could be due to the fact that very few individuals apply for this visa.
Overall, it appears that the fee changes are somewhat selective, however, these figures are not currently official; we will be keeping a lookout for when this becomes the case.