When you apply for any kind of visa, whether it be to get married in, live permanently in or just visit the UK, you will have to pay an application fee. Every year UK visa fees rise, and this usually happens around the end of March/beginning of April. How much you have to pay will depend on what specific visa category you apply for. Which visa you apply for depends on your situation, for example whether you are an adult or a child, how long you want to come to the UK for and what you will do whilst you are here.
In general, fees for applications made from within the UK have stayed the same from the 2018/2019 year to the 2019/2020 year. This is great news for applicants, because many visa categories already charged quite a substantial amount of money to apply. For example, it currently costs £2,389 to submit an indefinite leave to remain application.
Unfortunately, these hefty fees are unavoidable. If you don’t pay them, your application simply won’t be accepted. It’s always a good idea to get a professional solicitor to help you with your UK visa application to make sure that you are eligible to apply and that you don’t make mistakes in your application.
When you can apply for British citizenship
If you have been living in the UK for five years or more, you may be eligible to apply for British citizenship. You must have held indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for at least the past year if you are from outside the EEA. If you are from an EEA country and you have held permanent UK residence for the past year you may also be able to apply for British citizenship.
If you have British parents, are stateless or have previously renounced your British citizenship you may be able to apply. British subjects, overseas citizens, overseas territory citizens and protected persons can also apply for British citizenship.
Citizenship fees
No exception to the freeze, the 2019 British citizenship fees are also all staying the same as they were in 2018. As they currently stand, British citizenship and naturalisation fees are as follows:
- Naturalisation: £1,330
- Naturalisation as a British overseas territory citizen: £1,000
- Adult nationality registration as a British citizen: £1,206
- Child nationality registration as a British citizen: £1,012
- Adult nationality registration as a British overseas territory citizen, overseas citizen, subject or protected person: £901
- Child nationality registration as a British overseas territory citizen, overseas citizen, subject or protected person: £810
As well as the initial application fees listed above there are also additional fees related to citizenship and naturalisation applications, which are:
- Duplication of citizenship certificate: £250
- Citizenship ceremony fee: £80
- Confirmation of status as a British citizen: £250
- Reconsideration of a naturalisation or registration application: £372
- Nationality correction to certificate: £250
Applying for British citizenship can have many benefits, including the ability to obtain a British passport, vote in UK elections and unrestricted travel in and out of the UK. It is important that you know that you a) are eligible to apply and b) can afford the citizenship fees before you make an application to avoid rejection.
