How much will UK immigration fees rise from April 2026? 

From 8 April 2026, the Home Office will increase immigration and nationality fees by 6–7% across almost every application type. Whether you are applying for a visa to work, study, or visit the UK, extending your stay, or applying for settlement or British citizenship, these changes will affect how much you pay. Sponsor licence fees are also increasing for employers and education providers.  This article explains what is changing, who is affected, and what you can do before the change is implemented.

The Home Office has announced that the majority of immigration and nationality fees will rise on 8 April 2026. The increases affect applicants both inside and outside the UK, as well as employers who sponsor international workers.

How much is the UK work visa fee?

Fees are increasing for many work visas including the Skilled Worker visa, Temporary Worker visa, Innovator Founder visa and Global Business Mobility routes. 

If you are applying from outside the UK for a Skilled Worker visa, and have been successfully sponsored, a visa for three years or less will increase to £943. A visa valid for more than three years will rise to £1,865. 

The fees typically depend on factors such as the category within the visa, the length of visa being applied for and whether the application is made from outside or inside the UK.

How much is the UK visitor visa fee?

All visitor visa fees are increasing. A standard six-month visitor visa will rise to £135. Longer-term visit visas will cost £506 for two years and £903 for five years. If you are a non-visa national, the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) fee is also rising, from £16 to £20.

How much is the UK student visa fee?

Student visa fees will increase to £558 for both main applicants and dependants, whether you are applying from inside or outside the UK.

How much is the Indefinite Leave to Remain fee?

If you are already in the UK and need to extend your visa, the fee for Leave to Remain will rise to £1,407 per applicant. Applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), the most expensive application in the immigration system, will increase to £3,226 per applicant. For families applying together, this means the total cost will rise significantly.

How much does British citizenship cost from April 2026?

Naturalisation as a British citizen will cost £1,709. Registration as a British citizen will rise to £1,540. The one exception is children’s naturalisation applications, which are reducing from £1,214 to £1,000.

Will the April 2026 fee increase affect businesses and sponsor licence holders?

Employers who sponsor international workers will also see their costs rise. Larger organisations applying for a worker sponsor licence or Temporary Worker sponsor licence will face a fee of £1,682. For smaller organisations, the fee will increase to £611.

One limited piece of good news for employers is that the Certificate of Sponsorship fee will remain at £525. This follows a 120% increase in 2025, so the freeze will offer some relief, but the overall cost of recruiting and retaining international talent continues to rise.

These increases are not happening in isolation. They follow a period of significant change in the immigration system, including sharp rises to salary thresholds for Skilled Workers, limits to health and care roles, and proposals that could make settlement harder and more expensive to achieve.

In our view, the cumulative financial pressure now placed on migrants in the UK is becoming unsustainable. Fees have risen repeatedly over recent years, and the immigration system increasingly asks people to pay more for less certainty.

In particular, many clients are already planning applications ahead of proposed restrictions to the settlement route. The additional £200 per applicant at a time of significant uncertainty about the future of ILR, places real pressure on families who are trying to plan and secure their futures in the UK.

Settlement and citizenship, some of the most important decisions a person can face carry the heaviest fees, creating a system in which the right to belong is, in effect, means-tested. A fair immigration system would ensure that fees are proportionate, transparent, and do not act as a barrier to people securing their status or contributing to life in the UK.

The immigration and nationality fee increases will place a greater financial burden on both employers and individuals wanting to live, work and study in the UK. 

If you are eligible and planning to make an immigration application in the coming months, the most important thing you can do is check whether applying before 8 April 2026 would save you money. For ILR applicants in particular, the saving is close to £200 per person, for a family of four, that is a significant difference.