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UK Visa Fees 2026

Home Office fees changed on 8 April 2026, so here is what every main route now costs, from the application fee itself to the health surcharge, tests and settlement.

Reviewed against GOV.UK on 18 August 2026.

What you actually pay

A UK immigration application is rarely a single charge. Most applicants pay a Home Office application fee, the immigration health surcharge for every year of permission granted, and frequently a test, ceremony or premium service fee on top. Employers pay separately again. The figures below are the Home Office rates that took effect on 8 April 2026, and they apply to the main applicant and to each dependant unless stated otherwise.

Work routes

Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker fees turn on two things: whether you apply from outside or inside the UK, and whether the certificate of sponsorship covers three years or less, or more than three years. A job on the Immigration Salary List attracts a discounted rate, and Health and Care Worker applicants pay the lowest fees of all.

Global Talent is therefore £766 in total whichever way you reach it, but the money is paid in two instalments if you need an endorsement. Scale-up sponsors also pay a separate endorsement fee of £1,500 to the endorsing body, excluding VAT.

Study routes

Family routes

Appendix FM applications are priced as a single family category rather than route by route, so a spouse, fiancé(e), proposed civil partner, child or parent applying for entry clearance all pay the same headline fee.

Visitors, transit and the ETA

An ETA now costs £20 and covers multiple trips of up to 6 months. Every traveller who needs one must hold their own, babies and children included.

Settlement, nationality and passports

Naturalisation is therefore £1,839 in total, being £1,709 to apply plus the £130 ceremony fee. The Life in the UK Test is booked and paid for separately.

Sponsor and employer costs

The skills charge is payable by the sponsor and cannot be passed to the worker. Exemptions apply, including certain science and higher education occupation codes, students switching in-country to a work route, and dependants of sponsored workers.

The immigration health surcharge

The surcharge is charged for each year of permission granted, up front, for the main applicant and every dependant. The rates are £1,035 a year for most applicants and £776 a year for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility Scheme applicants and anyone under 18. A grant of more than 6 months but under a year is charged as a full year; an in-UK grant of 6 months or less is charged at half a year; and applications made outside the UK for 6 months or less pay nothing.

You do not pay the surcharge if you are applying for indefinite leave to enter or remain, if you hold or are applying for a Health and Care Worker visa (dependants included), as a visitor, under the EU Settlement Scheme, as an asylum seeker or for humanitarian protection, as a recognised victim of modern slavery or trafficking, as a child taken into local authority care, or under several armed forces and diplomatic exemptions.

Priority services, biometrics and fee waivers

Faster processing is optional and always sits on top of the application fee. The priority service costs £500 and the super priority service £1,000; super priority is not available for citizenship applications. Sponsors pay £750 to expedite a licence application. Optional add-ons are separately priced: the user pays visa application service is £76.50 and on-demand mobile biometric enrolment is £650 per hour per representative. An application rejected as invalid costs £30 to process, and administrative review is £80.

Fee waivers exist for human rights based applications, including the five and ten year partner, parent and private life routes, and for people with permission as victims of modern slavery. A granted waiver can cover the application fee, the health surcharge, or both, depending on what you can afford.

Worked example: five years to settlement

A single Skilled Worker applying from overseas on a three year certificate, extending for two years, then settling, pays the following at current rates.

Naturalising afterwards adds £1,839. The employer pays separately: £1,682 for a large sponsor licence, £525 for each certificate of sponsorship and £6,600 in immigration skills charge across five sponsored years. Priority processing at each stage would add up to £1,500 more.

How PRIMEVISA helps

• We cost your whole route before you start, so there are no surprises at the extension or settlement stage.
• We check whether a discounted Immigration Salary List, Health and Care Worker or fee waiver rate applies to you.
• We tell you honestly whether priority or super priority processing is worth the extra £500 or £1,000 in your case.
• We advise sponsors on licence, certificate and skills charge liability before a single certificate is assigned.

Common questions

When did the current UK visa fees take effect?
The Home Office immigration and nationality fees table currently in force took effect on 8 April 2026. It replaced the table dated 11 November 2025, and it raised most application fees while leaving certificates of sponsorship, Global Talent and premium service fees unchanged.

How much is the immigration health surcharge in 2026?
It is £1,035 a year for most applicants and £776 a year for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility Scheme applicants and under-18s. It is paid up front for the whole period of permission and for every dependant, not just the main applicant.

Do Health and Care Worker applicants pay less?
Yes. The application fee is £324 for up to 3 years and £628 for more than 3 years, the same whether you apply inside or outside the UK, and Health and Care Worker applicants and their dependants are exempt from the immigration health surcharge entirely.

What does a five-year Skilled Worker route to settlement cost?
For one applicant at 2026 rates, roughly £10,213: £819 entry clearance, £3,105 health surcharge for 3 years, £943 to extend, £2,070 health surcharge for 2 years, £50 for the Life in the UK Test and £3,226 for indefinite leave to remain.

Can I get a UK visa fee waived?
Fee waivers are available for human rights based applications, including the 5 and 10 year partner, parent and private life routes and applications from recognised victims of modern slavery. A waiver can cover the application fee, the health surcharge or both, depending on affordability.

Related guides

• Health and Care Worker visa
• Global Talent visa
• UK work visas: Skilled Worker and sponsored routes
• UK family and partner visas
• Settlement and British citizenship
• Sponsor licence for UK employers

This page summarises guidance published on GOV.UK and was last reviewed on 18 August 2026. It is general information, not immigration advice on your own case. PRIMEVISA LTD is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, registration F201600043.

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