UK IMMIGRATION FEES INCREASES DURING OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2010

UK Immigration has announced that there will be further increased immigration charges. Part of the fee will be in October 1, 2010 covering the UK visa fees are "below cost". The majority of the increases, if approved by Parliament will take place in November 2010. This additional fee increases are something controversial comes on top of some large increases in the fees it 6 April 2010. If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU and would like to visit, study, work or enter the UK for other reasons, it is likely that you have to pay higher UK visa fees.

This is another attempt by the British government to raise funds. You can not justify these fee increases to cover only the cost of immigration applications. The fees set much higher than the fees will pay for the cost of processing immigration applications. The government has infact said earlier that the increased fees also pay for other expenses they say is a result of immigration into Britain. There are a lot of evidence to suggest that especially during the boom years, increased immigration was a huge win for the UK and has helped to fuel the economic boom in the UK.

The UK Border Agency had this to say:

"The UK Border Agency considers that the proposal to increase the charges continue to find the right balance between maintaining safe and effective border controls and ensure that our fee structure does not hamper Britain's ability to attract immigrants and visitors who make a valued contribution. "

UK Tier visa fee increases are as follows:

• Tier 1 visa at the consulate outside the UK £ 690 to £ 750
• Tier 1 visa from within the UK £ 840 to £ 850
• Tier 2 visa fee from £ 270 to £ 350
• Level 2 in the country from 475 pounds to 500 pounds
• Tier 4 visas from £ 199 to £ 220
• Tier 4 visa from the UK was £ 357
• Level 5 visas from £ 128 to £ 130

You will see the largest increases in the UK immigration charges are for applicants applying for Tier 1 and Tier 2 visa visa from outside the UK. This will affect skilled immigration to Britain.

Visit Visa fee increases are as follows:

• Short term visit visas are generally for up to six months from £ 68 to £ 70
• Visit visa - long two years from £ 230 to £ 245
• Visit visa - long five years from £ 420 to £ 450
• Visit visa - long 10 years from £ 610 to £ 650
• Settlement Visa (permanent residence) will increase from £ 644,750 GBP
• Increase dependent visa fees to 20-30% of the principal applicant fee

To apply for a visa and want to avoid paying increased British government visa fees you should consider applying sooner rather than later. If you need to pay higher visa charges both for yourself and family the extra costs can be quite considerable.