Immigration and nationality fees for 2022/23

The updated list of fees for immigration and nationality applications that apply from 6 April 2022 shows that most visas and extensions are up £15. Citizenship and sponsor licence rates are unchanged. 

Headline application fees had been largely frozen for the last three years following years of massive hikes, the last of which was in April 2018. But the Immigration Health Surcharge, a separate tax on visas, has increased sharply over that period, from £200 a year in 2018 to £624 a year in October 2020. This is the first financial year in many that the total cost of a typical visa has risen below inflation.

The costs remain exorbitant. Money from the Immigration Health Surcharge is ringfenced for the NHS, but the Home Office makes a hefty profit on the processing fees. A migrant applying for indefinite leave to remain in the UK has to pay £2,404. The estimated cost to the Home Office of processing an ILR application is £491 — so the fee is set at five times higher than the actual administrative cost. A Skilled Worker visa for someone working in a “shortage occupation”, where the UK is desperate for workers, has an administrative cost of £154 but is charged at up to £928.

The full list of old and new fees can be found on the official government web-site by the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/home-office-immigration-and-nationality-fees-6-april-2022.