On the same day as the ETA increase, the UK Home Office has raised most immigration and nationality charges by 6 %–7 %. Visitor visas now cost £135 (up from £127); a Student visa rises to £558; and an overseas Skilled Worker visa for up to three years climbs to £819. Even the India Young Professionals Scheme visa—popular for tech talent exchanges—edges up to £340. The higher tariffs reflect London’s policy of making the immigration system "financially self-funding" and come on top of last year’s jump in the Immigration Health Surcharge and Skills Charge. For Indian companies seconding staff to the UK, the cumulative effect is significant: sending a family of four on a five-year assignment can now exceed £25,000 in fees alone before health surcharges. Sponsors must also reckon with higher ancillary costs. While the Certificate of Sponsorship fee remains £199, licence renewals, priority processing and premium customer services have all seen similar uplifts. Employer budgets prepared at the beginning of the fiscal year may therefore be out of date. Immigration advisers urge firms to audit all in-process UK applications and consider filing priority upgrades before the UKVI service-level backlog worsens—a common side-effect after major fee revisions.
Source: Business Standard
