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UNITED KINGDOM: Home Office Confirms Change to Immigration Health Surcharge Payments
February 18, 2022
Individuals applying for a UK visa inside or outside the UK have been subject to an Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) since 2015. This IHS is paid upfront and calculated on a yearly basis, based upon the amount of years a visa would be issued for. It is currently set at £624 per year for adults and £470 per year for applicants under the age of 18.
For sponsored workers, the amount of years a visa was issued for, and thus the amount of IHS charged, was calculated by the work start and end dates on the Certificate of Sponsorship. For example, an individual with a work start date of 17 February 2022 and a work end date of16 February 2025 could expect to pay three years’ of IHS.
However recent changes to how the charge is calculated have meant that individuals applying from outside the UK now have to pay for the time granted before the visa – essentially from their declared expected date of arrival in the UK. It is our understanding that a travel date that pre-dates the work start date by two weeks would incur an additional six months’ of IHS, with the result being that the application is £312 more expensive for both the main applicant and any dependants applying with them.
Therefore, sponsors should be aware that if an applicant wishes to travel to the UK more than 14 days before their work start date, they could incur a higher IHS.
Organisations and individuals interested impacted by this development are encouraged to contact a Newland Chase immigration specialist for case-specific advice.
For general advice and information on immigration and business travel to the UK, please contact us.
