British Citizens forced to pay £5015.29 in fees to be allowed to live in the UK with their spouse as a British family!

Author : LondonMark (Mark Stokes)

The Government published last year that the cost per decision for all permanent and temporary migration applications is £182

Yet when presenting information to justify the recent increases in fees in Parliament, they stated that the actual unit cost of processing a spouse Visa is £278 (FLR) - but they now want to charge £649.

This is very misleading.

Anybody unfamiliar with the spouse visa system (including most MPs) would reasonably think that the cost of the visa for a British Citizen to live with their wife/husband or partner is only £649.

What they fail to realise is the process now takes over 5 years and has to be applied for several times providing relatively the same information with a new fee each time!  This is a disproportionate and gross interference in people's lives by the State. During this time couples are in a state of limbo know as the 'probation period'.

The word 'probation' emphasises that they are being treated like criminals in what the Independent Inspector has called 'a culture of disbelief at the Home Office'. This has effects including: not being able get mortgages if both incomes are needed, companies being reluctant to give long term contracts because the visas are only 2.5 years long, travel is restricted due to the requirements if the spouse wishes to be naturalised later, couples living in fear of what might happen if they are between jobs when the next application is due. At a time that should be filled with joy, and that should be a couple's honeymoon period and building plans for the future, instead their world is turned upside down with often unbearable levels of stress.

This April has seen the fees rise disproportionately yet again. This is causing many families immigration fee poverty, that is if they first can earn enough to be even allowed to apply.

So why do I say the visa cost is £5015.29?

As a British citizen you have to now pay the following in stages for your spouse to stay here:

In Country Applications

1. LTR (£649) the first in country application after being married, (£48 increase)
2. Health surcharge at £200 per year of validity for a visa of 30 months (£500) (new this year)
3. Biometric Fee (£19.20), 

= £1168.20

1. FLR (£649) at the 2.5 year mark (£48 increase)
2. Health surcharge at £200 per year of validity of the 30 month visa  (£500)
3. Biometric Fee (£19.20) at each application the same biometrics are taken again with a fee paid to the Post Office

= £1168.20

1. Life in the UK test (£50)  Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship Book (£12.99)
2. ILR (£1,500) at the 5 year mark, a £407 or 37% increase in one year
3. Biometric Fee (£19.20) yet again

= £1582.19

Sub Total £3918.59

1. Naturalisation (£925) after receiving ILR, a £19 increase 
2. Arrangement of a Citizenship Ceremony (£80)
3. Biometric Fee (£19.20)
4. Passport fee (£72.50) (optional but needed for travel on an equal basis as the rest of your family)

= £1096.70

Total £5015.29

But for some people it costs more:

In Person Applications

If you need to travel because of work or family and can not have your passport kept by the Home Office for sometimes over 6 months at a time then you have no choice but to do an in person application each time which costs £400 each time. So that would be (£1200) extra

Total £6215.29

Overseas Application

If you are applying from outside of the UK then it is more as the first application is Settlement instead of LTR for overseas initial applications and costs (£956) which is £307 more 

As the initial visa issued to overseas applications is for 33 months then the health surcharge is then (£600) which is £100 more. even though this is just 3 months extra the Home Office is charging people 6 months extra!

and if you are not in a country that has a visa centre then a (£115)receiving fee

and an outside of the UK visa application centre fee of (£70)

(£150) for IELTS to take an approved english test at an approved centre if you are not already exempt for the english language requirement

Some countries will need to pay to have a TB test that is about (£65) 

so would give 

Total £5822.29

Additionally fees can vary in different countries due to how exchanges rates are implemented and variations in exchange rates can even be 20% for more unstable currencies.

10 Year Route Applications

Anybody who has been forced onto the 10 year route then the fees would be as they need to make two more applications for FLR

Total £7351.69

If you need a Transfer of conditions to a new passport when the old one expires (this will be more common now that the probation period is 5 years) you will be charged £183 or £260 if you have ILR

This does not include the increased complexity of the forms etc that Brits have to wade through. The complexity is so bad now that even the well educated need the help of solicitors just to fill them in, or the solicitors fees, extra English Test fees, validation fees of qualifications, translation fees or court, legal and judicial review fees we have to go through when the H.O. get things wrong.

If your spouse has a non-British/non-EU child then the costs will be even higher.

Even the new Helpline now costs £1.37 per Minute  or £4.00 for the webchat

By comparison Residence Documents issued under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations are not mandatory.

EU National Route Applications

For EU Citizens bringing their spouses here using the EU National route

1. EEA family permit (Free)  is normally for 6 months and allows multiple entry to the UK (https://www.gov.uk/family-permit)
2. after 6 months can apply for 5 year Residence card (£65)
3. Permanent Residence Card (£65) after 5 years of residence in the UK

Total £130 (but is technically optional)

The spouse is only allowed outside the UK 6 months a year.

Spouse visas for British Citizens should not cost anything as the British Citizen is already paying for them indirectly through their taxes. Now with the health surcharge, many are paying 3 times for the same thing as often both members of the couple are already paying taxes and national insurance over the 5 years yet the spouse also has the endorsement on their visa not allowing them to have recourse to public funds anyway.

So why are we now being charged 21.5 times (excluding naturalisation costs) what it costs for something we have already paid for through our taxes? 

Why are British Citizens (most of them born and bred in the UK) being ripped off and discriminated against just because their spouses were born in a non-EU country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? This is discrimination and undue prolonged interference in their family and private life.

Even after being ripped off by extortionate above premium fees the level of service offered is lacking with many applications refused with the fees being pocketed,  applications delayed due to staff cutbacks and many mistakes made with them not quickly corrected etc

Even the application forms are still not fit for purpose and treat British Citizens like immigrants. An example is on the spouse application form 

'Question: 7.22 is your sponsor currently living in the UK? 

Put a cross (x) in the relevant box. 

If ‘Yes’ please provide the date of when he/she first arrived in the UK'

Let's put these fees into context:

An application for a visit visa for a period of five years is £588.

The Government say that all applicants should be earning a minimum of £18,600 per year  even though 47% of the working population earn below this.

So now anybody earning £18,600 would have to pay 

27% of their annual income in application and visa fees! 

last year it was 18%  

But Justice Blake in his MM ruling in 2013 suggested to be fair that the minimum income should be £13,400 

So given that any body earning £13,400 would have to pay 

37.5% of their annual income in visa fees!

just in order to exercise their fundamental right of living with their spouse. 

A household used to be considered to be fuel poor if they were required to spend more than 10% of their income on fuel to maintain an adequate standard of warmth. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319280/Fuel_Poverty_Report_Final.pdf

This is causing many families 'immigration fee poverty', that is if they first can earn enough to be even allowed to apply.

Is it fair that British families now have to pay  27% of their yearly income just to be able to stay together in the UK without restrictions after they get married?

Sources of current fees and costs etc:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table

Last year's fees:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279536/Fees_Table_April_2014.pdf

Cost of passport:

https://www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport

Health surcharge:

https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415129/Surcharge_customer_info_web_v1.2.pdf

English language test:

https://www.ielts.org/test_centre_search/results.aspx?TestCentreID=d887b5c9-6b9c-411d-9b76-05a3d6b70c64

(47% of the working population earn below this)

https://www.gov.uk/family-permit

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/299617/HO_perm_and_temp_migration_applications_-_Annual_Data.pdf

Appointment booking fee (premium service centre)  £100

Application in person (premium service centre) £400 includes £100 appointment booking fee

Passport pass-back £40

Receiving, preparing and forwarding documents £115

Acceptance of application at Visa Application centre outside the UK  £70

Some proposed charges are:-

If you withdraw your application before a decision is issued you will be charged £80

If a mistake is made in the processing of your application you will be charged an Administrative review fee  £80

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/401236/indicative-visa-charges-for-2015-to-2016.pdf