The United Kingdom has announced its plans to increase visa application fees for foreigners, including Nigerians who are seeking to migrate to the country for work and residence purposes.

During a press conference at Downing Street, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak revealed that the Immigration Health Surcharge, a fee paid by foreigners to access the National Health Scheme, will also experience a significant increase.

The prime minister stated that the fee hike is necessary to generate funds for higher pay for public sector workers, without resorting to borrowing, which could potentially contribute to inflation.

To cover the costs of pay raises, Sunak explained that a combination of higher fees for foreigners wishing to move to the UK would be implemented. This decision comes following a series of strikes by public sector workers demanding salary increases. The prime minister accepted the recommendations of an independent review of pay for various professions, including teachers, junior doctors, consultants, dentists, police officers, and prison officers.

The pay rise will also extend to senior civil servants and military personnel, with an average increase of five to seven percent across the board.

Sunak emphasized, “If we’re going to prioritize paying public sector workers more, that money has to come from somewhere else because I’m not prepared to increase people’s taxes, and I don’t think it would be responsible or appropriate to borrow more, as it would exacerbate inflation.”

The prime minister announced that the fee adjustments would raise over £1 billion. As a result, visa application fees for work and residence are expected to rise by 15 percent, while all other visa fees will increase by a minimum of 20 percent.

Source: Punch