The courts have said, in 2 high court judgements called Omar, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWHC 3448 (Admin) and Carter, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWHC 2603 (Admin), that ‘a person who can show that they cannot afford to pay this fee’ is entitled to a fee waiver and so does not have to pay to assert their Human Rights. 

This was confirmed by the Upper Tribunal in R (on the application of Dzineku-Liggison and Others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Fee Waiver Guidance v3 unlawful) [2020] UKUT 00222 (IAC). It is now clear and reflected in the Home Office guidance that the test is affordability. 

You can apply for a fee waiver if you are making one of the following types of applications: 

• Applications for status under the 10-year partner, parent or private life route 

• Applications for status on the basis of other Human Rights 

• Applications on Human Rights grounds by someone granted discretionary leave (DL) following refusal of asylum or humanitarian protection 

• Applications from victims of trafficking or slavery who have already had 30 months’ status under this category and are applying for a further extension 

• Applications for leave to remain under the 5-year partner route where the sponsor is receiving a disability benefit and can show that the family will be adequately maintained without access to further public funds 

• Applications under the 5-year parent route

To apply for a fee waiver, see the information further down this page.

• You cannot apply for a fee waiver if you are applying for permanent stay (indefinite leave to remain). The Home Office position is that if you cannot afford the settlement fee (currently £3,226), you should apply for temporary status until you are able to afford the permanent stay application fee. 

• You also cannot apply for part of the application fee to be waived. For example, you cannot say that you can pay half of the application fee but not the rest. In that situation, you must either apply for a full fee waiver or pay the full fee. 

The Home Office policy confirms that a person who cannot afford to pay the fees is entitled to apply for a fee waiver. This is called the affordability test. It applies where the applicant does not have sufficient funds available, after meeting their essential living needs, to pay the application fee and/or the Immigration Health Surcharge. 

In a family application, if you only have enough money to pay for some members of the family, you can apply for a fee waiver for those you cannot afford to pay for. 

You can also apply for the Immigration Health Surcharge to be waived if you are able to pay the application fee but cannot afford the IHS. In that case, you must make a fee waiver application and wait for a decision before submitting your main application.  

If you currently have status, you have to make this application in the month before your visa runs out. Your status will automatically be extended until a decision is made on the fee waiver. 

To apply for a fee waiver, you need to complete an online form: 

https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/fee-waiver 

It initially asks for the basis on which you are making the full application. It then asks whether you can afford to pay the fees, and whether your children will be affected if the fee is not paid. To apply for the fee waiver, you must select the option which says that you can’t afford to pay the fees and that your children will be affected because you would not have any money if you paid the fees. 

Alongside your personal details, the form will also ask for all the addresses you have lived at in the last 5 years, the dates that you lived there, details of your current accommodation, details of your current (or expired) passport and your Biometric card number and your national insurance number (if you have one). 

It also asks for details of all the bank accounts you and your children hold, details of your income, and details of your outgoings. 

You can go back and amend the application as many times as you want until the application is submitted. It is submitted by pressing the ‘save and continue’ button on the final page which is headed ‘No payment required’.

Once you press this button, your application is submitted and you are then given instructions on the steps to follow. You will then need to download a checklist of required documents. 

You will receive a Unique Application number which has the format 1212-0001-XXXX-XXXX. This is your Home Office reference number for the fee waiver application. 

You are also told how to send the documents in. You can either wait for an email, which is sent within a couple of days, from ukvi_uploads@mailgb.custhelp.com which will tell you how to upload the documents to them or send them by post to the address on the checklist if you cannot upload the documents. 

You have to do this within 10 working days of the application being made. 

The crucial documents they ask for are ‘6 months bank statements for all accounts with all large, and regular incoming and outgoing payments explained.’ 

They will check with credit agencies to see if the applicant has any other accounts not listed on the form. If there are other accounts, they will either refuse the fee waiver immediately or, if it is an extension application, will ask for 6 months accounts for that statement. 

So, it is important to make sure that bank statements for all accounts are sent in, even for accounts which have not been used for a long time. It is also important to let them know of any accounts you have held which have been closed. This is because those accounts might still be registered as open. 

They check to make sure that they have 6 months bank statements, etc. They can refuse if, for example, only 4 months bank statements are sent in unless a reasonable explanation for this is provided when the application is made. 

They check to see if the income coming in matches the money going into the bank account. In particular they identify money coming in from other sources, including friends, and can refuse a fee waiver on the basis that that person can lend you the money to pay. It is important to provide an explanation for any such money coming in. Such a refusal could be challenged depending on the fact of the case. 

They then check the money going out and initially look for money transferred into another account to see if that matches the money going into that account. They do this to identify whether all the accounts have been named. 

They then look for large outgoings to identify whether money has been taken out to reduce the balance of the account. It is therefore very important to provide an explanation of large transfers in and out.