Bit of info...

On the BBC this morning...a few complaints from the tourist boards that it will make coming to the UK more "PENG"but generally it seems to be ...M.P.Rai...

The fees for passports, visas and chargeable consular services provided by British consular posts overseas are to change from Friday 1 July 2005. the fee for legalisation services provided by the FCO in London and overseas will also change.

These changes will ensure that the full cost of providing services at home and overseas are fully recovered without any claim on public funds and to meet the increasing demand, while maintaining high standards of service.

Full details of all new consular fees are available on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk/consularfees

Full details of all new visa fees are available on the UKvisas website: www.ukvisas.gov.uk/news

Chargeable Consular Services

In 2004-05 British posts delivered a range of over 50 chargeable services.

Examples include:

Birth registration: £64.50 (up from £55)

Death registration: £64.50 (up from £55)

Administering an oath: £53.00 (up from £45)

Supplying witnesses: £14.00 (up from £12)

Passports

In 2004-05 British posts issued or amended 482,000 passports and issued 6,500 emergency passports.

From 1 July 2005 the following fees will apply:

Adult 32 page: £69.00 (up from £56.50)

Adult 48 page: £82.00 (up from £67.70)

Child: £45.00 (up from £36.50)

Emergency: £43.50 (up from £35.50)

Amendments: £57.00 (up from £46.90)

Temporary: £55.00 (up from £45.60)

A new fee will be introduced to cover the costs of issuing Biometric Passports due to be implemented at overseas posts from December 2005.

Legalisation Fees

In 2004-05 British Posts and the London office legalised the signatures of officials, such as Notaries or Registrars, on more than 300,000 documents.

From 1 July 2005 the legalisation fee will increase from £12 to £19.

Visa Fees

In 2004-05 British posts overseas processed 2.5 million visa applications

From 1 July 2005 the following fees will apply:

Six month visit visa to increase from £36-£50

Long term visas for stays of over six months (including student visas, work permit holders and working holiday makers) to increase to £85

Settlement visas to remain unchanged at £260

Long term validity visit visas will be reduced from £150 (10 year visa) and £88 (5 year visa) to £85

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Updated table of Consular Fees - will take effect from 1 July 2005 (PDF, 38k)

edit: decided not to post on this one sorry