UK immigration fees to increase further.

Earlier in 2015, BritCits volunteer Mark, wrote this piece - one of our most read posts - on how much a British citizen must pay if they want to live in the UK with their foreign spouse.  Comments and feedback made it clear that readers believe the 'exorbitant' fees are an attempt by the Home Office to discourage family applications, or perhaps, the government taking advantage of  a captive market because they know British citizens, unlike businesses, will more often than not need to live in the UK.

Yesterday, the Home Office announced proposals to increase the fees even further, with effect from April 2016.  This is just a proposal, though in my view it's almost certain to go through. However, it is still imperative that you write to your MP and Baroness Hamwee at hamwees@parliament.uk to protest about this increase - maybe, just maybe, someone will listen this time.  It is particularly telling that the increases to family visas comes on the same day as preferential treatment to Chinese visitors in order to provide them with 'value for money'!  Shame the government only seems to recognise the ££ investment from Chinese investors, but not the contribution made by families for the betterment of our children and society.

I set out below my understanding of the various fees from initial application to citizenship for spouses and adult dependant relatives - it's likely that by the time many people reach the ILR or citizenship stage, the fees will have increased further.

Actual costs will be higher if:

• legal fees are incurred at any time in the process - given the increased complexity, it's likely even basic applications need the assistance of a good lawyer or immigration advisor
• there is no visa centre in the country of application 
• documents need to be apostilled and translated 
• courses or books need to be purchased for the English Language Test and Life in the UK Test
• tests need to be re-sat
• documents are lost or damaged thus need to be re-requested from the Home Office
• application has to be made again - maybe because of a mistake by the applicant or indeed the Home Office (it can be quicker and cheaper to re-apply than to appeal)
• ELT course providers or adverse currency fluctuations increase the ELT cost
• NHS Health Surcharge increases (likely) 
• Premium service / in-person applications are made 
• applicant is on a 10-year route to ILR

Costs will be lower if:

• application is exempt from the English Language Test
• applicant is exempt from the Tuberculosis Test

It's very likely I've made an error, as now navigating the fee information is almost as complex as the rules, so please do holler if you spot anything that needs correction.

 Visa for spouse of British citizen - where original spouse application made in-country

	Maximum	2016/17	2015/16	2014/15
	proposed	proposed
Further leave to remain (incl switching route)	£1,224	£811	£649	£601
NHS Health Surcharge	£500	£500	£500	£0
Biometric Fee	£30	£19.20	£19.20	£19.20
English Language Test - A1	£150	£150	£150	£150
SELT - admin	£250	£200	£0	£0
Tuberculosis test (approximate)	£65	£65	£65	£65
Further leave to remain	£1,224	£811	£649	£601
NHS Health Surcharge	£500	£500	£500	£0
Biometric Fee	£30	£19.20	£19.20	£19.20
English Language Test - A1	£150	£150	£150	£150
(certificates only valid for 2 years, so test may need to be re-sat)
SELT - admin	£250	£200	£0	£0
ILR at 5 year mark	£3,250	£1,875	£1,500	£1,093
Biometric Fee	£30	£19.20	£19.20	£19.20
English Language Test - B1	£150	£150	£150	£150.00
SELT - admin	£250	£200	£0	£0
Life in the UK test	£250	£50	£50	£50
Naturalisation	£1,500	£1,156	£925	£826
Citizenship ceremony	£100	£80	£80	£80
Passport - Adult	£400	£72	£72	£69
Spouse fees for apps made in-country	£12,329	£7,412	£5,805	£4,177

Visa for spouse of British citizen – where original spouse application made out of country

	Maximum	2016/17	2015/16	2014/15
	proposed	proposed
Entry clearance	£3,250	£1,195	£956	£885
NHS Health Surcharge	£600	£600	£600	£0
in-country biometric enrolment	£30	£19.20	£19.20	£19.20
English Language Test - A1	£150	£150	£150	£150
SELT - admin	£250	£200	£0	£0
Tuberculosis test (approximate)	£65	£65	£65	£65
Further leave to remain at 2.5 year mark	£3.250	£1,195	£956	£885
NHS Health Surcharge	£500	£500	£500	£0
Biometric Fee	£30	£19.20	£19.20	£19.20
English Language Test - A1	£150	£150	£150	£150
(certificates only valid for 2 years, so test may need to be re-sat)
SELT - admin	£250	£200	£0	£0
ILR at 5 year mark	£3,250	£1,875	£1,500	£1,093
Biometric Fee	£30	£19.20	£19.20	£19.20
English Language Test - B1	£150	£150	£150	£150.00
SELT - admin	£250	£200	£0	£0
Life in the UK test	£250	£50	£50	£50
Naturalisation	£1,500	£1,156	£925	£826
Citizenship ceremony	£100	£80	£80	£80
Passport - Adult	£400	£72	£72	£69
Spouse fees where entry clearance applied for	£12,429	£7,512	£5,905	£4,177

Visa for Adult Dependant Relatives

	Maximum	2016/17	2015/16	2014/15
	proposed	proposed
Entry clearance	£3,250	£2,676	£2,141	£1,982
Biometric Fee	£30.00	£19.20	£19.20	£19.20
Tuberculosis test (approximate)	£65	£65	£65	£65
Naturalisation	£1,500	£1,156	£925	£826
Citizenship ceremony	£100	£80	£80	£80
Passport - Adult	£400	£72	£72	£69
ADR application fees	£5,345	£4,068	£3,302	£3,041