The UK government has announced new prices for visas and Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), with the prices increasing on average by seven percent.
All types of visas, including student visas, visitor visas and electronic travel authorisations will be more expensive starting on April 9, 2025, following a student visa fee increase that occurred in October of 2023, VisaGuide.World reports.
The visitor visa will be ten per cent higher than it currently is, with the price rising from $149 to $164. The price of the ETA will also increase, requiring nationals of countries that are visa exempted to pay $20, up by 60 percent from the current fee. Unlike other visa fees, the new fee for ETA will become effective starting on April 2, 2025.
Visa Hikes to Impact International Students in the UK
When the new measure was introduced, Emma English, Executive Director of the British Educational Travel Association (BETA) had noted that more expensive visas would impact the youth, student and educational travel sectors,
The government’s post-Brexit policy of requiring international school groups to use passports instead of ID cards has already resulted in a decline in group visits. Increasing the cost of the ETA adds another barrier, exacerbating the sector’s challenges. Youth travellers are valuable for their economic contribution and for fostering long-term international connections and cultural understanding.
Study visas will be up by $43, for main applicants and dependents, which shows an increase from £490 to £524 ($633 to $677). The same applies to child students.
On the other hand, the price for short-term students studying the English language for more than six months but not for more than 11 months, has changed by $18 – from $258 to $276.
UK Work Visas Up by About 12%
As the data by the Home Office reveals, the biggest percentage increase is in Health and Care Worker visas (28.2 percent), followed by Skilled Worker – Shortage Occupation (26.3 percent).
The main applicants for Health and Care Workers will be $470 from $367, which is $103 more than it currently is. The increase for Skilled workers will be £470.
On the other hand, the lowest increases are seen in Temporary Work visas (3.9 percent), which sums up to $38. The settlement and long-term visas were moderately increased – about seven percent for innovator founder visas and 5.6 per cent for Minister of Religion visa fees.