UK to increase its visa fee to meet health sector cost
An emphasis on providing higher compensation to public sector employees necessitates the need for funds to be sourced from other areas. This is due to a reluctance to increase the tax burden on citizens or resort to further borrowing, which could potentially aggravate inflation. These remarks were delivered by Sunak at a press briefing held at Downing Street.
According to Sunak, “So, what we have done are two things to find this money. The first is, we are going to increase the charges that we have for migrants who are coming to this country when they apply for visas and indeed something called the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is the levy that they pay to access the NHS.”
With the proposed rise in fees, there is an expectation of generating over GBP 1 billion in revenue, Sunak stated, “All of those fees are going to go up and that will raise over GBP 1 billion, so across the board visa application fees are going to go up significantly and similarly for the IHS.”
The appropriateness of these increases is backed by the fact that there has not been a recent hike, despite the rise in costs. The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which applies to long-term UK immigrants, including students at a discounted rate, currently starts at about GBP 470 annually and can reach thousands for multi-year visa applications.
The UK Home Office is anticipated to release comprehensive information in the coming months regarding which visa categories will experience increases and the timeframe for the implementation of the new higher rates.
Under the leadership of Sunak, the Conservative Party government has faced significant pressure amidst disputes concerning public sector pay, which has resulted in numerous strikes over the past year affecting schools and hospitals.
Furthermore, following the rejection of their demand for a 35% pay increase, junior doctors in England commenced another five-day strike. During his wage announcement, Sunak warned that his offer was “final” and further industrial action would not alter that decision.
In his words, “There will be no more talks on pay. We will not negotiate again on this year’s settlements and no amount of strikes will change our decision. Instead, the settlement we’ve reached today gives us a fair way to end the strikes. A fair deal for workers and a fair deal for the British taxpayer.”
The government’s offer, according to Sunak, has been supported by teachers’ unions, and this endorsement will allow school staff and leaders to cease their strike actions and return to their regular operations.
