Following the Budget announcement yesterday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the Immigration Health Surcharge will be raised from £400 per year to £624 from October 2020. 

An accompanying coasting document (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/871799/Budget_2020_Web_Accessible_Complete.pdf) states: 

“This measure increases the Immigration Health Surcharge from the current level of £400 per year to £624 per year for each surcharge liable non-EEA temporary migrant (including dependants). The measure also increases the discounted rate for students, their dependents and those on the Youth Mobility Scheme from £300 to £470. The surcharge will also be set at £470 for all children under the age of 18.

This will be implemented in October 2020 and expanded to include future EEA temporary migrants at the increased rate from January 2021.”

This raise is not surprising as it was part of The Conservatives promise during the 2019 general election campaign. What was not clear before is the date it would be implemented and the fact that it would apply to new European migrants coming in from January 2021.

This fee is levied in addition to the main visa application fees. At present, the application fees does not appear to be rising in 2020/21. Nevertheless, the increase in Immigration Health Surcharge will push up the total application cost especially for a family application.

It is important for potential applicants to know that the IHS fee is paid upfront according to the length of the visa you will be applying. As an example, an applicant on a Tier 2 General visa (work visa) applying for a 3-year visa will have to pay £610 (application fees) and £1872 upfront for the IHS fee. That’s a total of £2482. The amount is then multiplied for each dependants coming with them. A small family of 4 would have to fork out £9928.

SINCERE IMMIGRATION