Home Office to charge for visa renewal applications

The Home Office (HO) announced on Thursday 10th July that from 1st August 2003 it would begin to charge foreign nationals in the UK for visa renewal and settlement applications.

The charges will apply whether or not the application is successful. Applications made by post will cost £155, with what the HO term as a "premium" same-day service - going in person to one of the four processing centres in Croydon, Birmingham, Glasgow or Liverpool - costing £250.

For postal applications the HO guarantee a response within 13 weeks, with a target of 70% being processed within 3 weeks. Payment can be made by cheque, banker's draft, postal order or by debit or credit card. Cash and banker's drafts from foreign banks will not be acceptable forms of payment, and the case will not be considered until the payment has cleared - so effectively applicants cannot pay by cheque on "premium" applications.

Any applications made before 31st of July will not require payment. A new form with payment details will need to be completed for all applications from that date. Those applications received in August but bearing a July postmark may or may not require payment: the leaflet issued by the HO says that they will be exempt, whereas the website says all free applications must be received by 11.59pm on 31st July.

There are some groups who will be exempt from charges for postal applications (but not for the "premium" service): those applying for asylum; nationals of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey and their dependants applying for leave to remain, and those applying for indefinite leave to remain on the grounds of domestic violence and where they appear to be destitute. There seems to be some confusion as to whether those EEA citizens or their family members who require a visa will be required to pay: the leaflet issued by the HO says they will, the information on the HO website says that they will not. Appeals will not carry any charges.

The reasons given by the HO for the introduction of charging are that it is "unfair" for the UK taxpayer to pay for this service, it will save the HO £90m, and allow them to provide "a better service".

NUS is deeply opposed to the introduction of charging as a further financial burden on international students, who already pay high tuition fees in order to study in the UK in the first place. Verity Coyle, NUS VP Welfare says: "The Department for Education and Skills promotes student mobility and positively encourages international students to study in the UK. NUS believes this is directly contradicted by the Home Office’s plans to charge for visa extensions. It is outrageous that no consultation has been undertaken. The UK has prided itself in attracting international students as this year’s UCAS figures show, and the great work undertaken by the sector as a whole could be completely undone by this poorly thought out proposal."

Link to Home Office article