Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Britain ‘pricing migrants out’

by NADEEM BADSHAH

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.”

More For You

Thunderstorms to Hit East & South-East England; Met Office

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption

Getty Images

Thunderstorms to hit East and South-East England as Met Office issues amber warning

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for thunderstorms across parts of eastern and south-eastern England, in effect from 20:00 BST on Friday to 05:00 on Saturday. The affected area spans from Eastbourne in East Sussex to Cromer in north Norfolk.

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption, with flash flooding, power cuts, and hazardous travel conditions expected. The Met Office warns that flooding of homes and businesses is likely, and delays or cancellations to bus and rail services are possible due to surface water and lightning strikes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crime boss who posed as male escort jailed for £20m cocaine plot

Shergill and his accomplices were arrested on different dates in 2020

Photo for representation (iStock)

Crime boss who posed as male escort jailed for £20m cocaine plot

THE head of an organised crime group who claimed he was a male escort while masterminding an international operation to import cocaine into the UK has been sentenced to 21 years and three months in jail.

Kulvir Shergill, 43, from the West Midlands, told National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators he made a living through male escort bookings, teaching martial arts and working as a personal trainer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Major Delays on M62 After Lorry Crash and Fuel Spill

Motorists are being advised to expect significant disruption

National Highways

Major delays on M62 after lorry crash causes fuel spill

Drivers are facing long delays on the M62 following a lorry crash near Warrington that led to a significant fuel spill on the carriageway.

The incident occurred when the lorry struck railings on a bridge on the A49 Newton Road, causing fuel to leak onto the motorway below. As a result, the M62 has been closed in both directions within junction 9, and the junction 8 eastbound entry slip road is also shut.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air-India-Phuket-Reuters

A view shows Air India flight AI 379 that had to make an emergency landing back at Phuket Airport, due to a note of a bomb threat discovered mid-air, in Phuket, Thailand, June 13, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

Bomb threat forces Air India flight back to Thai island

AN AIR INDIA flight from Phuket, Thailand to New Delhi returned to the Thai island on Friday after a bomb threat was discovered on board, according to Thailand’s airports authority.

The flight had taken off from Phuket and was en route to India when the pilot reported a possible threat and made an emergency landing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Air India crash: Black box found as India investigates London-bound flight disaster

INVESTIGATORS have recovered the black box from the site of Thursday’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, where a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick airport went down shortly after takeoff, killing at least 265 people, including those on the ground.

The aircraft issued a mayday call shortly before crashing into a residential area around lunchtime. The plane had barely lifted 100 metres from the ground before it came down, with its tailpiece left protruding from the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less