OUTRAGE AMID ‘PROHIBITIVE’ COST OF VISA AND PASSPORT APPLICATION FEES
MIGRANTS in the UK – among them doctors and nurses – are facing poverty due to the rocketing price of Home Offices fees, lawyers and campaigners have warned.
They have hit out at the rising charges for asylum, immigration and nationality applications and say it is breaking up families with some moving back to south Asia because they cannot afford the costs.
Among non-EU migrants affected are those working in the NHS who face visas costs of £1,200 and a £600 Immigration Health Surcharge – paid every time migrants change jobs, even if it’s within a year.
The independent chief inspector of borders and immigration has launched an inquiry into the charges, which have gone up since 2010. Other charges are a £3,250 levy for indefinite leave for an adult dependent relative and £1,330 for an adult naturalisation application.
The Home Office has reportedly made profits of up to 800 per cent on some immigration applications from families. The cost to the department of processing a naturalisation application is £372.
Vicash Ramkissoon, business immigration director at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, said the UK now has a reputation for having “one of the highest visa processing fees in the world”.
He told Eastern Eye: “Migrants have faced year on year increases to their visa costs which are clearly unjustifiable especially when it has been widely reported that the Home Office are making up to an 800 per cent profit on some applications.
“Costs are much higher when applying for settlement in the UK and a family of four would be charged an extortionate amount of almost £10,000 to make an application for indefinite leave to remain.
“Many have no choice in paying such costs, having settled here with their families, and are often faced with using credit cards or taking out loans to pay for Home Office fees.
“In extreme cases, only some members have applied initially to save costs, which can lead to the risk of breaching immigration rules for the other family members, especially when their visas have expired.
“The additional cost of the IHS, which is mandatory for most applications, can only be described as a ‘stealth tax’ against working migrants who would already be contributing to the UK’s public services through tax and national insurance contributions.”
The registration fee for an adult has risen from £500 seven years ago to £1,206. And the cost of a settlement visa for a dependent relative has increased from £585 in 2008-09 to £3,250 in 2017-18.
Naturalisation for non-British overseas territory citizens costs £1,330, compared with £906 in 2014- 15, while nationality registration for adults has gone up from £823 in 2014-15 to £1,206.
Chai Patel, legal and policy director at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told Eastern Eye: “The evidence shows that migrants contribute more to the UK’s public services in taxes than they use themselves.
“In that context, targeting migrants for additional taxes, fees and surcharges seems nonsensical.
“Many of these measures are announced by politicians to give the impression that migrants create a drain on the public purse, when in fact the reverse is true. This sort of thing poisons the public debate and needs to stop.”
Registration fees for children to become British citizens has also soared. It costs £1,012 to register under-18s, up from £500 in 2011. Discounts for a second or additional child were axed in 2014.
Amit Kapadia, executive director of the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme Forum, said: “The HSMP Forum made number of submissions against the Home Office’s exorbitant fees which is, at times, 10 times more than the costs it incurs in processing an application.
“Furthermore, the kind of ever-deteriorating services which are received by applicants makes it wholly disproportionate.
“On top of this, the immigration health surcharge impacts migrants’ family life as it means they are either forced into poverty or the option to send their family back home.
“The application of an immigration health surcharge is a new low. Those having a family with a sole bread winner are even more disadvantaged as a result of such draconian visa fees and surcharge.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said when setting fees, it takes into account the wider costs involved in running its border, immigration and citizenship system.
“There are exceptions to application fees to protect the most vulnerable, such as for young people who are in the care of a local authority.
“Application fees are also waived where evidence provided shows a person may be destitute, or where there are exceptional financial circumstances, and requiring a payment would result in a breach of rights under the European convention on human rights.”
People sing songs and cheer in Hostages Square, after it was announced that all living hostages had been released and arrived back in Israel on October 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.(Photo: Getty Images)
Hamas hands over remaining Israeli hostages under Trump-brokered ceasefire
Trump arrives in Israel, says Gaza war is “over” as deal takes effect
Nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners to be released
Global leaders to meet in Egypt to discuss post-war stability
HAMAS on Monday handed over its remaining Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza for transfer to the Israeli military, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.
The handover marked a key step in ending two years of war in Gaza under a ceasefire deal brokered by United States president Donald Trump, who arrived in Israel to address its parliament.
As he entered the Knesset, Trump said the Palestinian militant group Hamas would comply with a provision under his plan requiring it to disarm, though the group has ruled this out.
Speaking to reporters before his address, Trump replied “yes” when asked if Gaza’s war was over.
Hostages reunited with families
As thousands gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Israel’s military said it had received seven living hostages after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross.
“I am so excited. I am full of happiness. It's hard to imagine how I feel this moment. I didn't sleep all night,” said Viki Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, as she travelled to Reim, the Israeli military camp where the hostages were taken.
Initial photographs of six of the freed hostages distributed by the Israeli military showed them standing.
The military said Red Cross representatives were on their way to receive the remaining 13 confirmed living hostages, who were also expected to be released on Monday.
Bodies of some of the 26 dead hostages, and two others whose fate is unknown, will also be released, along with nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners held in Israel.
The releases are part of the first phase of the ceasefire accord agreed last week in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Trump and more than 20 other world leaders are meeting there later on Monday to discuss next steps aimed at broader Middle East stability.
The Gaza conflict began with a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults since then have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health officials said.
Leaders meet to discuss lasting peace
In Gaza, about a dozen masked and armed men, apparently from Hamas’ military wing, arrived at Nasser Hospital where preparations were underway to welcome returning Palestinian prisoners.
“I hope that these images can be the end to this war. We lost friends and relatives, we lost our houses and our city,” said Emad Abu Joudat, 57, a father of six from Gaza City, watching the handover on his phone.
The United States mediated the agreement with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. The next phase of the deal includes an international body called the “Board of Peace,” to be led by Trump.
Progress toward lasting peace will depend on global commitments that may be discussed at Monday’s summit, but key details remain unresolved.
Outstanding issues include governance of Gaza after the conflict and the future of Hamas, which has rejected Israel’s demand to disarm.
The group’s public appearance on Monday at Nasser Hospital highlighted the challenges of addressing Israeli concerns over Hamas’ continued control of Gaza, which it has ruled since 2007.
Other disputes include the extent of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and moves toward a Palestinian state, which many Israelis oppose.
Trump addresses Knesset
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Trump at the airport as Air Force One landed, and accompanied him by limousine as a band played.
Trump will be the fourth US president to address the Knesset, following Jimmy Carter in 1979, Bill Clinton in 1994 and George W Bush in 2008.
Two years of conflict
Two years of war have left Gaza in ruins, with nearly all of its 2.2 million residents displaced. The conflict has also widened regional tensions involving Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Yemen’s Houthis.
Near Israel’s Reim camp, where the hostages were being taken to hospitals, people lined the road waving Israeli flags marked with yellow ribbons and the Star of David.
The family of hostage Matan Angrest thanked Trump for his role in securing his return. “We can breathe again. Our Matan is home!” they said.
At Israeli prisons, 1,968 Palestinian detainees boarded buses, most bound for Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, an official said.
Most of those released are Gazans detained during the war, along with 250 prisoners convicted of or suspected of involvement in deadly attacks.
Hamas’ armed wing said it remained committed to the deal, provided Israel also adheres to the agreed terms.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said on X that Israel had approved additional emergency aid deliveries, while UNRWA, the U.N. agency operating in Gaza, urged Israel to allow it to work without restrictions.
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