On 16 January 2024, the Home Office announced that they would be implementing more changes by stating that they would “reduce the reliance of migrant and border systems on the taxpayer funding.”
This new legislation will be debated shortly in Parliament with the anticipation that the new fees will come into effect from April 2025.
This includes the “maximum fee”, which will be charged on some immigration and nationality application fees.
The new Electronic Travel Authorisation (aka ETA’s) are newly implemented, meaning that applicants from certain countries (who previously did not need to obtain visas to the UK) can make an application for an ETA to make their journey in and out of the UK smoother. Previously, the cost of an ETA was £10 but will rise to £16.
Another change is the increase to UK Sponsor Licence holders. If they wish to employ someone with no right to work in the UK by issuing them a Certificate of Sponsorship, then they will be expected to pay £525 per issue of the certificate as opposed to the current fee of £239 (a 119% increase!).
Businesses that hold sponsor licences or are considering obtaining a sponsor licence should take into account the planned fee increases within their budgets, especially if they are seeking a number of new workers to work for the company this year. It may be prudent to advertise for those positions now to save the company from the 119% increase to issue the Certificate of Sponsorship.
Those Applicants seeking British Citizenship will also be affected. Both applications made from within the UK and outside will see an increase in the current fees. Obtaining British Citizenship is the last step in an Applicant’s Immigration journey and are usually relieved when they get to this stage. The increase in the fee will be a major blow. Given that thousands upon thousands would have already been spent in Home Office Application fees to even get them to this point. The Citizenship fee was previously reviewed in October 2023 but is now subject to a further increase. Currently, the fee is £1500 but will be increased to £1630 (including the citizenship ceremony fee).
The Home Office have to lay any proposals before the House of Parliament to be debated before there are any further shocks to increase application fees.
We at Fisher Jones Greenwood offer vast expertise in Immigration Law. If you are in a position where you are eligible to apply for British Citizenship and wish to avoid the increase in the fees, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. We would be able to support you in making an application prior to the fee increase in April.
Alternatively, if you are a Business considering a Sponsor Licence, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. We are able to offer comprehensive advice on sponsor licenses, including support when making the application.