Check your purses and carry some extra money as you head out for the visa office, Britain has announced an increase in fees for nearly all visa categories with effect from March 18th. The hike includes visa categories like student visa, tourism visa, settlement visa and premium service visa. This move is said to influence the applications made by Indians in Britain as well as applications in India for Britain.
Why has this new fees structure been introduced? Officials have stated that they need to “ensure that the Home Office can achieve a self-funding system, whilst continuing to provide a competitive level of service, and a fees structure that remains attractive to businesses, migrants and visitors”.
Loads of people from India apply for British visas each year. Large number of recipients and applicants for the British visas apply for various categories annually and to cater to this demand a new visa centre had been started in Lucknow by James Brokenshire , the Immigration minister. Reports have confirmed that there is almost a 25% increase in visa applications for residence, settlement and nationality fees and this was mainly because “these routes deliver the most benefits to successful applicants”.
According to a leading daily Indian professionals and other people who desire settlement visas for Britain will now have to shell out £1875 instead of £1500 as the fees was earlier . They end up paying £ 374 more than the earlier amount for ‘indefinite leave to remain’.
The other decision that was bought to notice regarding Indians states that those “with indefinite leave to remain and seeking to naturalize as British citizen, the fee will go up from £1005 to £1236.” Optional premium services like the priority visa services overseas and super premium services will have to pay a 33% increase in the fees amount paid earlier.
The Intra-company transfer visa that was necessary for the IT companies in India for placement of their employees in Britain will be raised to to £1151, from the March 18th. Sources have also been quoted to have confirmed that “visas linked most closely to economic growth, such as those offered to workers and students”, will rise by 2% and Visit visas for tourism purpose will go up by 2%”.
