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April 2025 visa and sponsorship fee increases
From 9 April 2025, there will be many visa and sponsorship fee increases. This includes Visitor Visa fees, Skilled Worker Visa fees, and Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) fees.
This announcement comes not long after the Government released a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules on 12 March 2025. The updates in this Statement of Changes are unrelated to the fees updates being discussed here, but both are big changes to the rules that will impact a lot of people, and they are close together.
Although many fees have increased, we will not cover all of them. Instead, we will focus on the fees that we think are the most important to mention, such as Indefinite Leave to Remain and Skilled Worker fee increases. Read on to find out more.Â
Skilled Worker and Sponsorship fee increases
First, we will cover worker related fee increases, which includes Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) and Skilled Worker Visas. Please note that all Skilled Worker Visa fee increases apply to both main applicants and dependants.Â
- Certificate of Sponsorship – fees for Worker Visas that require a CoS, such as the Skilled Worker Visa, Minster of Religion Visa and Global Business Mobility routes, are increasing from £239 to £525. This is £286 more than before, and the largest fee increase announced.
- Skilled Worker Visa applications for up to three years from outside the UK – increasing from £719 to £769
- Skilled Worker Visa applications for up to three years from inside the UK – going up from £827 to £885
- Skilled Worker Visa applications for up to five years from outside the UK – fees are increasing from £1,420 to £1,519
- Skilled Worker Visa applications for up to five years from inside the UK – being increased from £1,636 to £1,751
- Skilled Worker applications for jobs on the Immigration Salary List that will last three years or less – increasing from £551 to £590
- Skilled Worker applications for jobs on the Immigration Salary List that will last over three years – going up from £1,084 to £1,160
- Sponsor Licence fees for small sponsors, student sponsors, and temporary worker sponsors – increasing from £536 to £574
- Sponsor Licence fees for large employers – will be going up from £1,476 to £1,579
- Temporary Worker Visa fees (Charity Worker Visas, Creative Worker Visas, Religious Worker Visas, Seasonal Worker Visas and others) – increasing from £298 to £319
These visa and sponsorship fee increases mean that employers and overseas workers alike will have to review and increase their budgets. Workers may be put off of coming to the UK if they have to spend more money on visa fees, and sponsors may not want to sponsor workers due to increasing costs.
Fee increases to settlement and citizenship
There have been other major fee increases that include Indefinite Leave to Remain costs, which is a path to settlement in the UK.
- Indefinite Leave to Remain fees – going up from £2,885 to £3,029
- Naturalisation fees to become a British citizen – increasing from £1,500 to £1,605
Both of these are required for people to both settle in the UK, and become British citizens. People may not wish to pay the extra cost of settling in the UK as a result of these changes.
Visitor Visa fee increases
The Visitor Visa is the most popular UK visa, as it is the main option for people to come to the UK for short trips, such as for tourism. It, too, has received fee increases.
- Electronic Travel Authorisation fee – increasing from £10 to £16, a small amount but quite a lot in proportion to what it originally was
- Transit visa (direct airside transit) – going up from £35 to £39
- Transit visit visa (landside transit) – growing from £64 to £70
- Visitor Visa for six months – rising from £115 to £127
- Visitor Visa for up to two years – being increased from £432 to £475
- Visitor Visa for up to five years – going up from £771 to £848
- Visitor Visa for up to 10 years – rising from £963 to £1059
Though some of these fee increases are not big, they may be enough to make some people rethink a potential trip to the UK.Â
How we can help
It can be difficult to keep track of all the fee increases and Immigration Rule changes that happen throughout the year, which can make it difficult to know what the best visa route is for you.Â
Luckily for you, our team of immigration experts are here to guide you through the whole process, regardless of whether you are applying for a Worker Visa, ILR, or even naturalisation.
To talk to our team about your needs, you should first contact them by phone, email, or our website chatbot. You can also book a free 10-minute assessment that allows our team to see how they can help you.
After this, you can book a longer, paid consultation that lasts either 30 minutes, or an hour; the choice is yours. Your consultation can be with one of our immigration specialists, or with our Principal Solicitor, Nathan Woodcock. During this, we will help you plan your next steps and provide legal advice.Â
Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you with your application.
Still unsure about using our services? Then you should read about our past client success stories, or visit our testimonials page to find the reviews that past happy clients have left about our services.
Ready for assistance?
If you have any questions, or want to book an appointment with one of our legal experts, contact Woodcock Law today. Call us on +44 (0)20 7712 1705 or email info@woodcocklaw.co.uk.
