The UK Government is increasing the Immigration Health Surcharge by 66%
The UK Government announced on 13 July 2023 that the Immigration Health Surcharge will increase by 66%.
The increase from £624 to £1,035 per person per year is proposed for most main applicants. Further UK visa application fees are also proposed to increase by at least 15%.
The date for this increase is yet to be announced by the UK Government and this will have a substantial impact for those applying for a UK visa.
On 13 July 2023, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced:
“We plan to increase the rates of the immigration health surcharge, which have been frozen for the past three years, despite high inflation and wider pressures facing the economy and the system in general, to ensure that it covers the full healthcare costs of those who pay it. Under our plans, the main rate will increase to £1,035, and the discounted rate for students and under-18s will increase to £776. That increase to the surcharge will help to fund the pay rise for doctors.
“At the same time, we will increase fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming here to live, work and study at a time of record high migration numbers. Specifically, that means increasing the cost of work visas and visit visas by 15%, and increasing the cost of study visas, certificates of sponsorship, settlement, citizenship, wider entry clearance, leave to remain and priority visas by at least 20%.”
This announcement will cause undue pressure and financial constraints for many migrants wishing to lodge Immigration applications for both personal and business purposes. As we are unaware of the date change, if applicants can lodge applications sooner, we urge them to do so to avoid the substantial increase once they come into effect.
Should you have any queries, please feel free to get in touch. Alternatively, you can head over to our immigration lawyers page to learn more about the services we can provide.
