Increase in UK visa fees.

[BlueScouse]

Just on tv in UK now, 1830 thai time, increased fees have been announced.

Visit visas up 15%. Settlement visas up 20%

Health service surcharge up. Didn't quite catch the figure, but up to about £1000 a year. Fee for students up to £750 a year.

Increase will help fund the pay rises for NHS workers.

I expect more info will be posted later.

[KannikaP]

6 minutes ago, BlueScouse said:

Just on tv in UK now, 1830 thai time, increased fees have been announced.

Visit visas up 15%. Settlement visas up 20%

Health service surcharge up. Didn't quite catch the figure, but up to about £1000 a year. Fee for students up to £750 a year.

Increase will help fund the pay rises for NHS workers.

I expect more info will be posted later.

So it is Visitors and people who are going to UK to work, who will all contribute to the UK economy who will be paying for the NHS rises and NOT those who go to A&E or their Doctor with a cough & cold, or the 'illegal immigrants & asylum seekers' who get treatment for free without working. Pathetic.

What is this Health Service Charge and Student's Fee please?

[Jenkins9039]

My wife had a friend which worked at the Embassy, going by the discussions had.

1) British Embassy is 'Broke' - can't afford drinks for staff, let alone severance (even legal required).

2) Everything is being pushed to India. 

[theoldgit]

Nonsense troll post removed.

[theoldgit]

The increases were announced by the Prime Minister when asked how the recommendations of the Pay Review Body for various Civil Servants would be funded, he said the government would raise over £1bn by "significantly" increasing charges for migrants coming to the UK when they apply for visas and the levy they pay to access the NHS.

 

Taxes on legal migration and tourists are an easy target and popular amongst Daily Mail readers and Brexit voters, as l recall it was Sunak who significantly increased the NHS Surcharge in a previous tax grab when he slipped it in an earlier budget.

 

The fact that those charged the NHS Surcharge, will  in all probability, also pay Income Tax and make National Insurance contributions in their own right, means nothing to the average member of the Great British Public.

[MicroB]

14 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

So it is Visitors and people who are going to UK to work, who will all contribute to the UK economy who will be paying for the NHS rises and NOT those who go to A&E or their Doctor with a cough & cold, or the 'illegal immigrants & asylum seekers' who get treatment for free without working. Pathetic.

What is this Health Service Charge and Student's Fee please?

Health Service Charge is annual fee to access NHS; its paid in advance, and is refundable if the visa application is unsuccessful. So a 2.5 year visa required 2.5 years worth of charges in advance. Those migrants gaining employment in the NHS get the fee reimbursed.

 

A week ago, the Home Secretary proposed raising the fee to £2000 per year.

 

Its effectively a tax. You cannot opt out and decide to pay for private health insurance instead (private healthcare insurance is on average £1500 per year). Potentially, a Briton could attend 6th Form, get a NI credit, no NI credit for graduate and postgraduate study, then fall ill with a chronic condition. They would, rightfully, be able to access the NHS and potentially Continuing Healthcare services, completely free of charge, irrespective of NI "stamps". Similarly, a Briton could go to college, maybe even a non-UK college, get a nice job in the Middle East or Asia, and then, maybe at the end of a 40-50 year, possibly tax free, career, invest in property in the old country (and many do), and from the moment they step off the plane at Heathrow, have 100% access to the NHS for all of their healthcare needs (dependant on NICE and MHRA decisions). Potentially without spending a single penny of their earnings on National Insurance. Because access if based on where you live, not how rich/poor you are, or the colour of your passport.

 

In the year to June 2022, 25,893 Partner visas were granted, which seems to be 30-35% down on the number granted in 2019.

 

So the costs for a 2.5 year Partner visa is around £4300, paid up front, somehow. I wonder if they take Visa. Repeat, inflation/election adjusted 2.5 years later. ~£111 million contribution to the re-election fund each year. The £26m raised per year for the NHS equates to 0.014% of the annual budget.

 

Looking to see how many 2 hours per week cleaning jobs there are in UK care homes etc.

[MicroB]

11 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

 

The fact that those charged the NHS Surcharge, will  in all probability, also pay Income Tax and make National Insurance contributions in their own right, means nothing to the average member of the Great British Public.

Lets not forget said visa applicants are often also required, at their own expense, to undergo medical examination to ensure they are not a burden to the NHS that they are paying for. Or if working, probably paying twice over and subsidising treatment of others.

[RHCP]

 

Hi,

 

I’ve not posted on this forum for several years now since we left Thailand and settled in the UK. My wife is presently on FLR.

 

I am in regular contact with my local MP who is part of and I think chairman of a small group of around 20 predominantly right-wing Conservatives who very recently issued an extensive report with proposals on reducing net immigration.

 

Among these proposals are 3 recommendations directly affecting this thread:

 

·       Raise the minimum combined income threshold to £26,200 for sponsoring a spouse, in line with work visas.

·       Raise the minimum language requirement to B1 (intermediate level).

·       Raise the Immigration Health Surcharge to £2,700 per person, per year.

 

It is possible that this group has had an influence on the PM’s announcement to fund public sector workers pay increases.

 

I’m sure many of you will agree that the Tories see spouse visas as a soft target to extract more and more unjustifiable and probably uncosted fees from in order to fund in other areas which is grossly unfair.

 

So based on the aforementioned proposals, we might also see more obstacles put in place in the form of increased income and language requirements going into the future.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by RHCP

[MicroB]

Ah, "New Conservatives" (an amalgm of the unfortunately named National Conservatives (Nat-Cs) and some other groups of Red Wallers).

[MicroB]

This might help some people facing financial difficulties

 

https://www.jcwi.org.uk/what-to-do-if-you-cant-afford-to-apply-for-your-first-visa

 

Doesn't help me though....

[theoldgit]

3 hours ago, RHCP said:

Among these proposals are 3 recommendations directly affecting this thread:

 

·       Raise the minimum combined income threshold to £26,200 for sponsoring a spouse, in line with work visas.

·       Raise the minimum language requirement to B1 (intermediate level).

·       Raise the Immigration Health Surcharge to £2,700 per person, per year.

 

 
I personally don’t think the first two suggestions are unreasonable, but the suggested increases in the NHS Surcharge for immigrants who are more than likely paying UK income tax and making National Insurance contributions in their own right certainly are.

As I’ve mentioned previously Sunak has a history of using this route which would appease the Daily Mail readers and Brexit fans.

[RHCP]

9 hours ago, theoldgit said:

 
I personally don’t think the first two suggestions are unreasonable, but the suggested increases in the NHS Surcharge for immigrants who are more than likely paying UK income tax and making National Insurance contributions in their own right certainly are.

As I’ve mentioned previously Sunak has a history of using this route which would appease the Daily Mail readers and Brexit fans.

I'm inclined to mostly agree with you on the English requirement proposal but don't really share your view about the income level. For example we can survive OK on a lower total income than proposed without, in my case, resorting to state support. Furthermore if they deem that a 'living' income of at least £26,200 is necessary (incidentally in the report they said "still exceptionally low" so if they had their way the figure would probably be in excess of £30k) then why is the state pension and/or support benefits nowhere near their proposed income figure?

 

Regarding the NHS Surcharge, we are in full agreement on that one. My wife also pays tax and NI.

 

I read on another site that it could be questionable raising visa fees purely to fund public sector salaries which is what Sunak has announced and could potentially be open to a legal challenge although I won't hold my breath on that possibility.

Edited July 14, 2023 by RHCP

[theoldgit]

17 minutes ago, RHCP said:

..but don't really share your view about the income level. For example we can survive OK on a lower total income than proposed without, in my case, resorting to state support. Furthermore if they deem that a 'living' income of at least £26,200 is necessary (incidentally in the report they said "still exceptionally low" so if they had their way the figure would probably be in excess of £30k) then why is the state pension and/or support benefits nowhere near their proposed income figure?

 

I read on another site that it could be questionable raising visa fees purely to fund public sector salaries which is what Sunak has announced and could potentially be open to a legal challenge although I won't hold my breath on that possibility.

The salary requirement is always going to be contentious as a one size fits all figure doesn’t actually mean anything, maybe it should be assessed on affordability, as it used to be, but that wouldn’t allow “tick box” decision making.

The £26k figure is still well below the current average earnings figure, which is in excess of £30k.

 

A good question regarding the legality of using the increased visa fees, which in the most part already cost more than it costs the UKBA to process applications. 

[youreavinalaff]

On 7/14/2023 at 7:43 AM, RHCP said:

Regarding the NHS Surcharge, we are in full agreement on that one. My wife also pays tax and NI.

What is your wife's job? 

 

I ask as if she is involved in health care, either NHS or private, she can apply for part refund every six months. This can be done online at Gov.uk. All that is needed is payslips to cover the 6 months she is applying for a refund for.

[Negita43]

On 7/13/2023 at 7:24 PM, RHCP said:

Among these proposals are 3 recommendations directly affecting this thread:

 

·       Raise the minimum combined income threshold to £26,200 for sponsoring a spouse, in line with work visas.

·       Raise the minimum language requirement to B1 (intermediate level).

·       Raise the Immigration Health Surcharge to £2,700 per person, per year.

 

Yes how does that stack up against what the government pays everyday to house and support illegal immigrants.

Punish those that follow the rules and reward those that don't.

That's the UK government policy