New Immigration Fees Announced for 2016

Benjamin Franklin once said “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Perhaps there is now a further certainty: the increase in UK immigration fees each year.

The latest proposals have been released by the government that will come into effect in April 2016. These are not yet confirmed but, if past practice is anything to go by, are unlikely to change between now and April. The details can be found here but the headline news is a very significant increase of 25% for all indefinite leave to remain, residence and nationality applications. Anyone currently able to apply in those areas would be wise to apply pre-April 2016. There are also the usual minor increases of between 2 and 4% for the most common immigration routes and much larger increases for ‘premium’ services used when seeking a faster processing time.

More concerning is the plan for the forthcoming legislation to permit extensive fee increases across the board over the next 4 years. This will be done by establishing ‘maximum levels’ for fees that are vastly above the fees currently in operation. This could lead to significant future cost increases for business and migrants.