UK Immigration fees goes up

LONDON: The UK visa and immigration fees are to rise by up to 300 pounds sterling next month as migrants pick up the bill for public spending cuts in the UK Border Agency.According to “The Times” some of the new charges announced are up to four times the cost of processing and issuing a permit to allow entry or permission to stay in the UK.The cost of a short-term student visa will double to 140 pounds while the cost of settlement for a dependent relative will rise from 1,680 pounds to 1,814, pounds sterling almost four times the cost of processing the application.A joint application to become a UK citizen will rise by almost 300 pounds to 1,294, pounds sterling more than four times the cost of dealing with the application.The cost of becoming a UK citizen rises to 916 pounds sterling including a fee to cover the citizenship ceremony. It costs 238 pounds sterling to process a citizenship application.Damian Green, the Immigration Minister, defended the increases in visa and immigration fees.He said: “Given the need to reduce public spending, we have had to carefully consider our fee levels to ensure we can maintain good service levels to our customers and secure the border for the general public.”He added: “In principle it is the right time to ask migrants to make a greater contribution to funding the UK Border Agency than was previously the case. Therefore we should continue to seek a shift in the funding provided by migrants to deliver the border and immigration system with a consequent reduction in the burden on UK taxpayers – APP