Proposed new visa fees from April

This was posted on the Facebook page of Marriagevisahelp (the visa agency we used):

UK visa application fees set to rise in April 2016

Settlement fiancée, partner and marriage visa fees:

Currently £956 Proposed fee £1,195

Settlement Priority Visa Service:

Currently £360 Proposed fee £450

Further leave to remain as a partner:

Currently £649 Proposed fee £811

Indefinite leave to remain as a partner:

Currently £1,500 Proposed fee £1,875

Dependants must pay a separate application fee.

The fee increases are still to be approved by Parliament.

For more information please visit:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...her_detail_of_indicative_fees_for_2016-17.pdf

if all goes as hope for with us--it looks like the first FLR will come to be after april--another fat chunk of money to cough up. straw and camel's back comes to mind.

Certainly the case for doing postal applications increases each time.

i took a look at the FLR application form--it looks worse than the online visa app !

It looks a lot at first, but you'll probably skip most of it. I actually found, going through, that is wasn't too bad.

Good thing to do is print off two copies and have a practice run on it first.

You should find it relatively easy compared with the initial entry visa as you will already have the bulk of your paperwork from the Fiancée visa, just one or two things to add like the marriage certificate and correspondence to your home address.

Plus, as you are already living together, there's no need to find a load of skype chat and correspondence. You just need some joint bills and bank statements at the same address.

I agree, I found the FLR pretty easy, the second FLR may be a little more difficult by virtue of the 2.5 year gap between applications.

One can view it as a formailty if one wants. Others view it as extortion

I am a little surprised by the hike in visa fees especially so soon after the introduction of the health surcharge.

Well, the loved ones are going to have to work harder to afford the rise

Hello! My wife arrives next week, and I have a question related to fees (I guess?) I didn't think it was worth starting a new thread as it ties into the above.

I'm trying to work out the timeline for our (eventual) application to renew the visa after the first 2.5 years. When do we apply for it? Do you do it a month / few months / more than the expiry date of her first entry? I guess it expires sometime around the middle of 2018 if that helps.

And in terms of wage slips / bank statements etc, do they want a full 2.5 years worth from the month she first arrived in the UK? Or do they want that plus "prior" documents (effectively all the stuff they originally had for the first spouse visa application)? Just asking because I'm currently missing my December payslip. Trying to get my work to issue a copy, but as it stands I have everything pre December and (assuming nothing else goes awol) I'll have everything post December. If worst happens and I can't get a copy issued, do I have a problem I can't fix?

You need to apply between 28 days before expiry and the actual expiry date.

You only need 6 months pay slips if you are employed.

Make sure you keep plenty of joint correspondence over the whole 2 years before the brp expires.

thanks, will do

We're starting off at my dad's place until we can find something of our own, but of course at the very least we'll both have wage slips / bank statements / doctor etc going to his address (along with whatever services I'm already signed up to) being redirected to his house. So keep all the paper stuff, and hang onto six months worth of most recent financial / payslip stuff - got it (I'm surprised they "only" want six months payment info but want to see the 2 years of junk and nonsense we'll be accumulating!) I'm guessing it works the same as the first application and we need to have the most recent things under 28 days, along with employer letter etc.

One final thing on my mind - I'm currently paying my mother's rent (this is where I've been living up till now as it was easier for me while bouncing back and forth from here to Manila. As you probably guessed, she's not living with my father). The situation is "complicated" (aren't they all!) and I may (or may not) still be paying it at time of renewal. Would me paying her rent have any sort of negative impact on the renewal? I noticed on a brief trawl through the forms that it asks for me to list "dependants". I'm not sure if she'd qualify as such as she's healthy and working and all the rest of it - just not making quite enough to cover her rent at the moment due to various jobs going under. Still, I need to try and find out where I stand with that so I can try to plan ahead.

Blimey, I've gone a bit off topic! Er - HORRIBLY EXPENSIVE FEES, I SAY!

When dependants are mentioned in the application it is directed more at if you are paying for the upkeep of children and so on.

ohh Gosh, Im planning now to bring my son here in UK, so i need to apply it online and book an appointment to VFS before April so he wont be afffected of the Increases of fees. Correct me if im wrong, if i apply a visa for him this March all documents that the sponsored which is my husband needed is Account year 2013-2014? or it is already 2014-2015?.. When i apply my FLR last August 2015 its 2013-2014 account year... Im a bit confused. He has a new Accountant now for the year 2014-2015. So i guess thats the latest that I need for my son visa application at the VFS Manila.

The financial year ends in April. If you apply in March he will need full accounts for 2014-2015 including Tax return, but he will have nearly had another entire tax year after that which they will need details of.

You will still need plenty of proof of earnings for 2015-2016. Accounts, proof of payments into bank, things like that.

When do his own accounts run from? Mine actually run from August to July, so even though the tax year is from April, my actual accounts don't reflect that exact period.

We had to apply for FLR in November, so I got my accountant to do all my accounts for 2014-2015 in August 2015 plus submit a tax return, which I kept a copy of to submit. That way I had all the up to date details plus tax return from that year.

I then submitted my own accounts spreadsheet and invoices from August 1 until October 31, with a letter from my accountant stating that he had seen them, plus he gave an estimation on tax based on those 3 months and an estimation of annual earnings for 2015-2016.

I'm supposed to apply for FLR (premium) on June yet,but with this proposed new fees , me think ill suggest to Mr.Nickel that we will just post it instead before the fee hike on April to be practical ..That will be a lot of savings 400 quid + 162 quid (difference) total of 562.

Nickel, I don't know your exact eligibility dates but do be very careful not to apply too early as you may find the new FLR(M) visa issue date doesn't allow you to reach the 5 year qualifying residence for ILR
You'll then end with stumping up for yet another expensive FLR(M) fee just to bridge a shortfall in reaching the target immigration journey of 5 years.

This scenario has happened and UKVI will not consider it as 'exceptional cause'

Here's the official UKVI stand on when to apply:-

Quote
A person in the UK with entry clearance or limited leave to remain as a partner granted under
Appendix FM on the basis of an application made from 9 July 2012 should apply for further
leave to remain no more than 28 days before their extant leave expires or no more than 28 days
before they have completed 30 months in the UK with such leave. Up to 28 days of extant leave
remaining at the date of application will be added to the period of leave granted
Unquote

Better safe than sorry

When we applied I called the hotline to check when the earliest we could apply was. They said 28 days before expiry.

So you won't be able to apply in April I'm afraid.

Why do you want the premium service?