Immigration Fees and Home Office Charges: What You Will Pay in 2026

UK immigration applications come with significant costs — and it is important to budget carefully before beginning an application. Our Bolton immigration solicitors summarise the main Home Office fees in 2026.

Visa Application Fees

• Spouse/Family Visa (entry clearance): £1,846
• Skilled Worker Visa (3 years): £719; (over 3 years): £1,420
• Student Visa: £490
• Graduate Visa: £700
• Visitor Visa (6 months): £115
• ILR (most routes): £2,885
• Naturalisation: £1,500
• Child registration as British citizen: £1,214

Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)

Most visa applicants must pay the IHS, which provides access to NHS treatment. The rate is £1,035 per year (£776 per year for students and those under 18). For a 33-month spouse visa, the IHS amounts to approximately £2,888. Health and Care Workers and their dependants are exempt.

Priority and Super-Priority Services

Priority processing is available for many visa types for an additional fee (typically £500–£1,000). Super-priority processing (decision within 24–48 hours for in-country applications) costs around £1,000–£1,500 depending on route.

Home Office Fee Waivers

Human rights-based applications for leave to remain (outside the Immigration Rules) may be eligible for a fee waiver if the applicant has no recourse to public funds and is destitute or would become destitute if they paid the fee. A fee waiver application must be submitted alongside the visa application.

Reducing Your Overall Costs

While solicitor fees are an additional cost, a successful first-time application is almost always cheaper than dealing with a refusal and reapplication. Our Bolton team offers transparent fixed fees for most visa applications.