Can You Beat The Immigration Health Surcharge Increase?

The chancellor has confirmed that the Immigration Heath Surcharge will increase yet further in October 2020. The charge will go up from £400 per year currently to £624 per year for most adults.

Students, those on the ‘Youth Mobility Scheme’ visa and children will pay £470 per year.

For those unfamiliar with the Immigration Health Surcharge, it is an additional fee levied on those who are applying for a UK visa to pay for using the NHS.

The charge was introduced in 2015, and was set at £200 per year for most applicants, and £150 per year for students. The charge was doubled to its current level in 2018. It has therefore more than trebled in 5 years. The Immigration Health Surcharge is now costs more than the application fee for most applicants. You read a previous article about whether this is a fair policy here.

What can applicants do? Those who have some flexibility about when they make their applications should aim to submit them before October in order to avoid the increase. This could include those applying for entry clearance from outside the UK.

Those who need to extend their current leave towards the end of this year should check their dates carefully. Most Tier 2 applicants can apply up to 3 months before their current leave expires. For others, it might only be 28 days. An application submitted as soon as possible may avoid the increase.  If you’re not sure when you can apply, you can call us for advice.

We don’t yet know when in October the change will take effect. Those who might be able to submit an application during October should consider getting prepared as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary delays later on.

For those who cannot submit an application before the change come into effect, unfortunately all you can do is be aware of the increase so that you can budget for it in the coming months.

For further information regarding Immigration Law, and how it affects you and your family, please contact our Immigration Specialists here.