In an effort to earn over a billion pounds to make up for revenue deficits, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stated that visa application fees will be dramatically increased.
In a speech in Downing Street on July 13, Sunak outlined several government aims during a recession, including halving inflation, expanding the economy, and reducing debt.
He also mentioned a significant pay raise for teachers as a means of averting a planned strike.
He said of the pay award: “This is a significant pay award and it is costing billions of pounds more than the government budgeted for.”
“We are going to increase the charges for migrants when they are applying for visas to come to this country and indeed something called the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is the levy that they pay to access the NHS,” he told the press.
He said payments arising from the two tax measures will come up to over billion pounds in revenue, before emphasizing his point and justifying the planned hike in both fees.
“So, across the board, visa application fees are going to go up significantly… none of these fees have been increased recently and we think it is appropriate given that cost of everything has gone up,” he added.
The Foreign Office will be expected in the coming days and weeks to roll out the said increases.
The United States recently announced hikes in certain visa categories for non-migrant visas. Visa fees have traditionally been criticized as a means of fleecing applicants as Embassies make huge sums from even rejected applications.