On 9th April 2025, the fees for some visa applications went up. The fee for Limited Leave to Remain went from £1,258 to £1,321 (an increase of £63) and the fee for Indefinite Leave to Remain went from £2,885 to £3,029 (an increase of £144). Details of all fees can be found here.
Today, visa fees are rising. Again.
We are GMIAU’s Action Group, the VOICE. We’re all women on the 10-year route to settlement, which means we have to renew our legal status in the UK every 2.5 years, and pay eyewatering fees each time. We lived through a huge fee hike in 2024, and we told the government then: we are not your cash machine. Now we’re asking a different government: when does this end?
The fees already have us at breaking point. We know that people go into severe debt to pay their fees, and go without food and other basic necessities – and that sometimes, it’s not enough to avoid falling out of status altogether.
There is no fee waiver to apply for indefinite leave to remain, the only way for us to get off the ten year route and out of the endless cycle of punishingly expensive applications every 30 months.
Like so many, we’re worried about making ends meet: this month has been called “Awful April”, as the cost of utilities and other bills are increasing for millions of people. For us, we have to manage these bills, while also saving up for the “double tax” of visa fees.
People who are on the 10-year route like us are embedded in our communities: most of us had been in the UK for longer than 10 years before even beginning the route, and some of us arrived as children. We have British children and families, jobs in Manchester’s schools and hospitals, and a right to be here and to stay. Forcing us and our children to live in poverty, debt and insecurity makes all of our communities less safe.
Here’s how we’re feeling:
“Multiplied by four, five people in a household – it is a lot of money. People are already struggling to find the money. This could be an extra £500 for a family.”
“Where do we draw the line – where does it stop? £5,000, £10,000? There’ll come a point when it’s unaffordable for just about anybody.”
“Fees went up in 2023 – call me naive, but I’m surprised it’s gone up again. You’d think there’d be some type of breathing space. But I was wrong.”
“At this point I’m stressed out, I’m drained by the Home Office.”
“People are living in serious anxiety, it’s putting them in debt.”
Last year, Nelson Shardey’s story shocked the nation: he was put on the expensive 10-year route to settlement even though he had lived in the UK for decades, running a shop, paying his taxes and even winning a bravery award. There are many more Nelsons suffering under the punishing 10-year route.
The government backed down and admitted they’d got it wrong in Nelson’s case. They’ve got it wrong again now. We aren’t going to sit quietly while the fees go up and up.