Home Office Fees 2020/21: Immigration and Nationality Charges

This relates to the latest Home Office Fees 2020/21 for Immigration and Nationality Charges – with Coronavirus (Covid-19) Jan 18, 2021 update. Indeed, there will be no changes in the Home Office Fees from April 6, 2020. Therefore, indefinite leave to remain (ILR), British Citizenship and Naturalisation application fees will remain the same in 2020. Moreover, the ILR same day fees 2020/21 for indefinite leave to remain applications will also remain at £3,189.

Home Office Fees 2020/21: Immigration and Nationality Charges

The Home Office revises Nationality and Immigration charges once every year. In fact, the charges are payable under section 68 and 69 of the Immigration Act 2014. The UKVI also offers some user-pay premium services for which applicants needs to pay additional charges. Therefore, the Home Office Fees depends on the type of application and service. Accordingly, the Home Office fees can be as low as £475 or £493 for Tier 4 student visa extension or startup visa, respectively. However, the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Charges can be as high as £1,408 or £2,389 for Tier 2 leave to remain or ILR application, respectively.

Home Office Application Fast Tracking Fees 2020/21

Furthermore, depending on the type of application, an applicant can opt for 5-day priority or 24 hour super-priority service for fast tracking processing time by paying additional charges of £500 or £800, respectively. Nevertheless, these priority and premium services are only recommended for a straightforward application.

Home Office ILR Fees 2020/21

Indeed, there will be no increase in ILR visa application fees from April 6, 2020. Accordingly, the indefinite leave to remain (ILR) fees will remain at £2,389. In fact, the ILR fees are applicable for all types of indefinite leave to remain applications. For instance, the indefinite leave to remain (ILR) Fees 2020 for PBS Tier 1 investor, Tier 1 Entrepreneur and Spouse visa applications under Appendix FM are £2,389.

Same Day Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) Fees 2020/21

Apparently, the Home Office Fees 2020/21 for the same day (24 hours) processing of Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or no time limit (NTL) applications are £3,189/- i.e. application fees £2,389/- plus the cost of super-priority visa service £800.

UK Naturalisation Fees 2020/21

Indeed, there will be no increase in the British Naturalisation Fees 2020. Accordingly, the British naturalisation fees will remain at £1,330, inclusive of the citizenship ceremony fee of £80. Moreover, the naturalisation fees for British overseas territory citizens will be £1,000. Please note, if an application is unsuccessful or withdrawn, then Naturalisation Fees are refunded. In fact, after deducting administration charges of £25 from the Naturalisation Fees.

British Citizenship Fees 2020/21

Evidently, there will be no increase in the British citizenship fees from April 6, 2020. Accordingly, the British Citizenship Fees 2020 for adults will remain at £1,206, inclusive of british citizenship ceremony fees of £80. Please note that the Home Office administrative cost of processing British Citizenship Application in 2020 is only £372. However, if an application is unsuccessful or withdrawn then the British Citizenship fees are refunded after deducting £25.

The Secretary of State has said that only £372 of that fee is attributed to the administrative cost of processing the application
Bailii.org

Child Registration Fees – British Citizenship

Indeed, despite all the criticism and legal hearing, the British Citizenship Fees 2020 for Child Registration will remain at £1,012. Moreover, if a minor turns 18 during the application process then needs to pay £80 fees for british citizenship ceremony at the point of decision.

The Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens (PRCBC) argues the “exorbitant” £1,012 registration fee, for an application which costs the Home Office just £372 to process, is unlawfully high. The charity says many children who are entitled to citizenship, having been born in the UK and lived here for their first 10 years, are prevented from applying because of the cost.
The Guardian

Home Office Fees for British overseas citizens 2020/21

Indeed, the Home Office Fees for nationality registration of adult British overseas citizens will remain at £901. Moreover, the nationality registration charges for children will continue to remain at £810.

Home Office Leave to Remain Fees 2020

There will be no change in the leave to remain fees from April 6, 2020. Accordingly, the leave to remain application fees will remain at £1,033. Moreover, the leave to remain fees with priority (5-day) and same day super-priority service are £1,533 and £1,833/-, respectively. Indeed, the leave to remain fees are not applicable for all types of switching and extension applications. For instance, the leave to remain fees for PBS Tier 1 Investor and Entrepreneur are £1,623 and £1,277, respectively. However, the leave to remain fees for spouse visa application are £1,033.

Home Office Fees for New Work Visa Applications

In March 2019, the Home Office has introduced new work visa categories. The Start-up and Innovator categories introduced on 29 March 2019 and the Global Talent visa was introduced on 20 February 2020. Accordingly, these new work routes have replaced the following PBS visas:

1. Innovator visa has replaced Tier 1 Entrepreneur
2. Start-up visa has replaced Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur
3. Global Talent visa has replaced Tier 1 Exceptional Talent

Moreover, a CESC discount of £55 is applicable for the main applicant.

Home Office Fees 2020/21 for Tier 1 High Value Migrants

Indeed, there will be no changes in the Home Office Fees 2020/21 for Tier 1 Applicants. Moreover, certain Tier 1 main applicants will continue to avail the £55 CESC discount.

Home Office Fees 2020/21 for Tier 2 Skilled Workers

Indeed, there will be no changes in the Home Office Fees 2020 for Tier 2 Applicants. Moreover, Tier 2 main applicants will continue to avail the £55 CESC discount.

Home Office Fees 2020/21 for Tier 4 Students

Indeed, the Home Office Fees for Tier 4 student leave to remain and extension visa will remain at £475. Moreover, the visa fees for Tier 4 students with 5-day priority and same-day premium  service will also remain at £975 and £1,275, respectively.

Tier 5 Temporary Workers

Apparently, the Tier 5 leave to remain and extension application charges will also remain at £244 for:

1. Charity Workers
2. Creative and Sporting
3. Government Authorised Exchange
4. Religious Worker
5. Youth Mobility Scheme
6. International Agreement

Premium Sponsor Scheme

Indeed, there will be no increase in the Home Office Fees 2020 for Premium Sponsor Scheme.

Sponsor Licence

In fact, from Feb 20, 2020, there will be no increase in the Home Office Fees for Sponsor Licence.

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

Indeed, the Home Office Fees 2020 for Tier-2 and Tier-5 Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) are £199 and £21, respectively. Moreover, the Immigration and Nationality charges for Tier 4 Confirmation of Acceptance for Study (CAS) are £21.

Home Office Other Fees and Charges

Home Office Fees 2020 and Hidden Cost

Although, there are no hidden charges, but there is a huge difference between the Home Office Fees and administrative cost of application processing. For instance, the Home Office charges an indefinite leave to remain fee of £2,389, but the administrative cost of processing an ILR application is only £243. Therefore, Home Office is facing severe criticism and court cases to rationalize the end-user fee structure. Nevertheless, in order to escape the public censure, the HM’s Government decided not to increase the Immigration and Nationality charges in 2019 and 2020.

Home Office makes £500m from immigration fees

The Times

ILR, NATURALISATION AND BRITISH CITIZENSHIP FEES VS. ACTUAL COST

Indeed, there is a huge disparity between the Home Office Fees and actual cost of processing ILR, Naturalisation and British Citizenship Registration applications. In fact, depending on the type of the application, the end user charges are 217.74% to 983.13% higher than the actual cost to process an application. Nevertheless, those applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) applications bear the brunt. Quite clearly, the Home Office ILR Fees (£2,389) are nearly 10 times (983.13%) higher than the actual cost of processing (£243). Therefore, on each and every ILR application, the Home Office makes a hefty margin of £2,146.

Cost Per Migration Decision (in-country and overseas)

Indeed, the average cost per migration decision has decreased from £217 (2010) to £155 in 2019. However, the Home Office fees have increased considerably. For instance, the indefinite leave to remain (ILR), British Citizenship (Nationality Registration Adult) and Naturalisation application fees have increased from £900 (ILR Postal), £580 and £780 in 2010 to £2,389, £1,126 and £1,250 in 2020, respectively.