The UK Home Office has announced sweeping increases in visa, residency and citizenship application fees, with the new charges set to take effect from April 8, 2026, in a move that will directly impact Nigerians and other foreign nationals seeking entry into the United Kingdom.
The revised fee structure, published by the Home Office, shows that nearly all categories of applications, ranging from short-term visit visas to permanent residency and naturalisation, will either increase or remain unchanged, with only one reduction recorded.
Under the new regime, the cost of a standard short-term visit visa, up to six months, will rise from £127 to £135.
Long-term visit visas will also see increases, with the two-year visa moving from £475 to £506, the five-year visa from £848 to £903, and the 10-year visa from £1,059 to £1,128.
Transit visas are not exempt, as direct airside transit visas increase from £39 to £41.50, while landside transit visas rise from £70 to £74.50.
The adjustments come at a time when Nigeria remains one of the largest sources of visa applicants to the UK, with significant numbers applying annually for tourism, education and employment opportunities.
Students and prospective migrants will also face higher costs, as the student visa fee has been raised from £524 to £558, with the same increase applying to child student visas.
Short-term English language study visas will now cost £228, up from £214.
For workers, the widely used Skilled Worker visa will increase from £769 to £819 for stays of up to three years, and from £1,519 to £1,618 for longer durations.
Read also: UK visitor visa fee increases to N249,000, other changes
Applicants under the Immigration Salary List category will also see increases across both short- and long-term brackets.
Health and Care visas, often used by Nigerian medical professionals, will rise modestly, from £304 to £324 for up to three years, and from £590 to £628 for longer stays.
Other work routes, including Innovator Founder, Start-up, Scale-up, and Graduate visas, will also see upward adjustments, while the High Potential Individual visa remains unchanged at £880.
The cost of settlement applications has also increased significantly. The route to settlement will now cost £2,064, up from £1,938, while indefinite leave to remain, commonly referred to as permanent residency, rises from £3,029 to £3,226.
Dependent relatives applying under settlement routes will pay as much as £3,635, compared to the previous £3,413.
In-country applications, such as visitor extensions and other leave-to-remain categories, have also been revised upward.
For nationality and citizenship processes, the fee for naturalisation as a British citizen has been raised from £1,605 to £1,709.
Adult registration as a British citizen will now cost £1,540, up from £1,446.
However, in a rare deviation from the general upward trend, the cost of registering a child as a British citizen has been reduced from £1,214 to £1,000—a £214 decrease.
Other nationality-related services, including renunciation, status letters and nationality reviews, have also seen moderate increases.
Observers say the rising costs could place additional financial pressure on families seeking education opportunities, professionals pursuing overseas employment, and individuals aiming for long-term settlement. [BusinessDay]
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