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Immigration Health Surcharge to Increase in 2024
Plans released in October 2023 say that the UK Immigration Health Surcharge will go up to £1,035 for each leading candidate and to £776 for students and children.
The House of Commons will discuss the planned rise on January 10, 2024. As a result, the price rise will likely happen after January 16, 2024. Instead, it might only occur on January 31, 2024, or even early February 2024.
Under the new Immigration Health Surcharge, visas that are valid for 3 or 5 years will now cost more than they did before:
Applicant | Increased IHS charge for a 3-year visa | Increased IHS charge for a 5-year visa |
| 1 Adult | £3105 | £5175 |
| 1 Child | £2328 | £3880 |
| 2 Adults | £6210 | £10,350 |
| 2 Adults and 1 child | £8538 | £14,230 |
| 2 Adults and 2 children | £10,866 | £18,110 |
What is the Current Rate of the Health Surcharge on Immigration?
Until the new rates go into force, the UK Immigration Health Surcharge costs £624 per application per year of leave given. People with a student visa, those on the Youth Mobility Scheme, and children under 18 pay £470 less per year.
Adults who depend on the main visa application usually have to pay the same amount. How much IHS you have to pay will depend on how much time off you get. You only pay half the annual fee for applications covering less than 6 months.
Applicants who want to cover more than 6 months of a year must pay for the whole year.
If you don’t pay the healthcare fee, you won’t get your visa or immigration application approved faster.
Does the Immigration Health Surcharge Need to be Paid?
If you are filing for a UK visa outside the UK to work, study, or visit family for more than six months but not to stay forever, you must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
If you are in the UK and want to apply for immigration, you must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. This is the case even if you only want to stay in the UK temporarily.
Health and Care Workers Don’t Have to Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge
The Health and Care Visa applicant and their dependents are automatically exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and do not need to pay the IHS cost to apply for a visa.
How Often Do You Have to Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge?
You must pay the healthcare surcharge for yourself and anyone who depends on you before you send in your visa or immigration application or make an appointment at a premium service centre.
UK Visas and Immigration will contact you if you didn’t pay the fee or didn’t pay enough when you applied for a visa or immigration.
You will lose your visa or immigration application if you don’t pay the total amount within ten working days if you’re in the UK or seven working days if you’re not.
Who is Going To be Affected?
People who want to come to the UK to work, study, or visit family for at least six months pay the health charge. Migrants who wish to renew their temporary immigration permission in the UK also pay for it. From the date the order starts until it ends, people who apply for a visa must pay the higher health charge.
Everyone has to pay the same amount for the health charge, no matter how much they use it. The health charge payments are based on how much healthcare an “average” user will likely use, not how much each client operates. These changes can help people who use the NHS more than most, like older people, pregnant women, people with pre-existing illnesses, and young people of working age. Any immigrant who has to pay the health charge has to do so right away and in total for as long as they are in the country.
Ukraine Family Scheme
Making the exemption from paying the health charge official protects these groups legally and ensures that the law is clear about who is accessible from the health charge.
The Ukraine Family Scheme, the Homes for Ukraine, and the Ukraine Extension Scheme are all part of the Ukraine Schemes. Ukrainian citizens and their children with family members in the UK who have permanent residency can join their family through the Ukraine Family Scheme. Under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, Ukrainian citizens can live in the UK with approved hosts. The Ukraine Extension Scheme lets people stay in the UK if they already have an immigration permit. The Ukraine Schemes gave out 233,771 leaves of absence between the start of the scheme and March 2023. About 1,000 applications for the Stateless visa path have been made since it began.
