Visa Application Costs

Having checked my bank statement today after paying for applications actual costs are annoyingly in no option than USD payments online and are actually:

£1569.53 for wife (visa application)
£31.39 (Non-Sterling transaction fee for the above)

£1569.53 for step-daughter (visa application)
£31.39 (Non-Sterling transaction fee for the above)

£618.21 IHS charge for wife (daughter £0.00 as child but will this come later?

I'm sure she's worth every penny. Mine is.

we werent charged for wifes sons IHS fee at the time of application ( a year ago ) but we got an IHS ref number. i dont know if we would have had to pay later--as it was a refusal ( feb this year ).

i must warn you now--there have been several child visa refusals. they are not as straightforward as a spouse visa.

I really would like to know how the Home Office justifies charging visa fees in US Dollars and not Sterling. Does the UK government not have faith in the country it governs national currency?

100% agree

Doesn't make any sense at all , why would they do this .
You can't imagine the USA immigration asking for GBP .

Probably to do with global currencies global migration volumes to whichever country!

The 'pound' is weak - and it's only going to get worse...!

Er no, Sterling has actually strengthened and is now above Php70 / €1.122. This trend should continue.

The applications are generally for a foreign national often abroad and USD is the global currency. If any payments were in cash then USD would be the currency of convenience for local exchange rates.

Yep, the charges are irrelevant to the future. Just find them misleading but then again, the whole thing is misleading and confusing

Thanks as ever bigmac. Applications are parcelled up and ready to be sent to Sheffield tomorrow, wife and step-daughter attend visa appointment in Manila Thursday. I understand and have read the issues and difficulty with child visas but I am hopeful that by virtue of the fact that my step-daughter lives solely with her mother, her natural father has seen her 5 times in her life and is a Canadian residing in the UAE may add some weight. They were never married, he has never lived in the Philippines, no family to care for step-daughter so hard to see why they would say no. But hey, this is a hard process and whilst hopeful, I am scared of disappointment, the wife and step-daughter are my life and they come together.

I just wanted to share our experience with my daughter. The application at that time is GBP 0.0 since then they UKVI office in Sheffield come back to us and demanded to pay $876 IHS Surcharge. We submit the application on 6th of April 2018 and still waiting for the outcome.

what sort of visa was that ?

edit--oh--you mean that $876 was the IHS surcharge ?

Yeah, IHS Surcharge for a child settlement visa.

Yes it sure is a stressful experience , any visa application , but this is a big one for you all .
Good luck , I hope to read eventually that you were successful .

You need to demonstrate and have documented evidence to support the fathers lack of interest and abdication of responsibility, an affidavit off him will help.
Just telling the ECO what you have put here about won't cut it. An example my wifes first husband is deceased (they the ECO) didnt just say ok then thats fine we had to supply the death certificate.
You need to do a lot more to convince otherwise you will struggle.
Sorry its a blunt message but these people don't know you and they cross all the t's and dot all the i's.

So there is a health surcharge for mother and also for child ?
Is there an age qualification for a child ?

For your delight
://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/who-needs-pay

Thanks Mattecube , helpful as always .