Category Archives: Visa

The UK Visas and Immigration office has informed that there will be changes in visa and immigration application fees over the next four years. Danielle Humphries, Entry Clearance Manager, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), informed that for 2016-17, UK Visas linked most closely to economic growth and prosperity, such as visitor, work and study visas will be restricted to an increase of 2 per cent. During the same period, fees for all sponsorship categories will be held at the current rates. There will be up to 25 per cent increase for settlement and nationality fees. There will be up to 33 per cent increase for optional premium services offered by the Home Office such as the super priority and priority visa services. The proposed maximum fee for entry clearance as a visitor for a period of six months or less is £95, as against the current maximum of £85. The proposed maximum fee for entry clearance as a visitor for a period of more than six months up to and including 12 months, calculated at fixed amount, is £200 as against the current maximum of £162. The current maximum for entry clearance as a visitor for a period of more than 12 months, calculated at annual rate, is £162 p.a. which has been proposed to increase to £200 p.a. “We are confident that our proposed fee increases strike the right balance between ensuring we continue to provide a competitive level of service and maintaining a fees structure that remains attractive to businesses, migrants and visitors,” Humphries said, adding, “We have no current plans to raise fees to the maximum amounts, and most individual fees will remain significantly below these levels.” …

United Kingdom (UK) granted over 360,000 visitor visas, until September 2015, a 16.5 per cent increase year on year, according to recently released statistics. With the commercial partner VFS, UK offers 15 visa application centres across India, more than in any other country. Visa application centres are situated in Delhi, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Mumbai South, Mumbai North, Pune, Ahmadabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Jaipur and Goa. A number of premium services are offered to the UK Visa applicants at the Visa Application Centre (VAC). VFS Users can avail walk in appointments where urgent travellers or those who have missed their appointment, can pay Rs 2537 to get a walk in appointment. Digital Assistance is provided in filling out the visa application form on the visa4uk website. The staff reads out questions on the form, and records the answers verbatim on behalf of the applicant for an extra cost of Rs 400. Group Appointments is available for group travellers who can apply at the same visa application centre at a particular time and day. This service is extended to all groups including tour operators, large families, conferences etc for Rs 500 per application. Travellers can pay for their visa by cash at the VAC, using VFS Global’s Credit Card at an additional cost of Rs 1000 per transaction. Certification service enables travellers to keep hold of their original documents. Applicants need to bring original documentation to the VAC to show VFS staff, who photocopy the documents and send to the decision hub along with the application. This service costs Rs 50 per document page. In 2015, India became the second country to benefit from the British Irish Visa Scheme, allowing Indian …