The United Kingdom government has announced an upward review of fees for a wide range of visa, residency, and citizenship applications, with the new charges scheduled to take effect on April 8, 2026.
According to an updated fee structure released by the UK Home Office on Thursday, the revised costs will apply to both in-country and overseas applicants.
The changes cover nearly all visa categories, including visit, student, and work visas, as well as settlement and naturalisation processes.
The development is expected to impact Nigerians and other foreign nationals intending to travel, study, work, or settle in the UK. Nigeria remains one of the leading sources of UK visa applications, with hundreds of thousands of applicants each year across different visa types.
Under the revised pricing, the cost of a short-term visit visa will increase from £127 to £135, while student visa fees will rise from £524 to £558. Applicants seeking permanent residency will now pay £3,226, compared to the previous £3,029, and the naturalisation fee for British citizenship has been raised from £1,605 to £1,709.
In contrast to the widespread increases, the fee for registering a child as a British citizen has been reduced from £1,214 to £1,000, representing a £214 decrease. All other charges are either being increased or left unchanged.
Some visa categories remain unaffected by the changes. The Tier 1 (Investor) visa continues to cost £2,000, while the High Potential Individual visa remains at £880.
Revised visit visa fees include: Short-term (up to 6 months), increased from £127 to £135; long-term (up to 2 years), from £475 to £506; long-term (up to 5 years), from £848 to £903; and long-term (up to 10 years), from £1,059 to £1,128. Fees for visiting academics (more than 6 months up to 12 months) and private medical treatment visas (more than 6 months up to 11 months) have both risen from £220 to £234. The direct airside transit visa now costs £41.50, up from £39, while the landside transit visa has increased from £70 to £74.50.
For student visas, the main applicant and dependants, as well as child students, will now pay £558 instead of £524. Short-term student visas for English language courses lasting more than six months up to 11 months have increased from £214 to £228.
Work visa fees have also been revised across multiple categories. The Skilled Worker visa for up to three years has risen from £769 to £819, while applications exceeding three years now cost £1,618, up from £1,519. Under the Immigration Salary List, fees have increased to £628 for up to three years and £1,235 for over three years, from £590 and £1,160 respectively.
The Health and Care visa now costs £324 for up to three years and £628 for longer durations, up from £304 and £590. Other increases include the Innovator Founder visa, now £1,357 from £1,274; Start-up visa, £495 from £465; and Scale-up visa, £937 from £880. The Graduate Route has also risen to £937 from £880.
Additional adjustments affect several specialised categories. The T2 Minister of Religion visa now costs £819, up from £769, while International Sportsperson visas have increased to £340 for up to 12 months and £819 for longer stays. Temporary work visas across multiple subcategories have risen from £319 to £340.
Similarly, the Representative of an Overseas Business visa has increased to £819 from £769. Under the Global Business Mobility routes, fees for senior or specialist workers are now £819 for up to three years and £1,618 for longer periods. Charges for graduate trainees, service suppliers, UK expansion workers, and secondment workers have all increased from £319 to £340.
