UK Visa Fees Rising from 8 April 2026 - ILR Up to £3,226, Child Citizenship Down to £1,000

20 Mar 2026

fees ILR settlement BNO skilled worker family citizenship action required

The Home Office published its confirmed fee schedule on 18 March 2026, setting out exactly what immigration applications will cost from 8 April 2026. Most fees are rising by around 6–7%, but one significant exception works in your favour: the fee for registering a child as a British citizen is dropping by £214.

An earlier report on this site noted that no change to the ILR application fee was expected this round — that was based on the Fees Amendment Order alone, which only sets fee maxima. The Fees Regulations published on 18 March confirm that the actual ILR fee is increasing, to £3,226.

What is changing from 8 April 2026

Settlement (ILR)

This is the most significant change for readers approaching their five-year qualifying point. If you are within weeks of being eligible to apply for ILR and your documents are ready, submitting before 8 April would save £197 per applicant.

BNO visa

The increases are modest, but they apply per person — so a household of four each applying for the 5-year visa would face an extra £68 from April onwards.

Skilled Worker visa

Health and Care Worker visa

Family visa (outside UK, spouse/partner)

British citizenship (naturalisation)

The exception - child citizenship registration is going down

The fee for registering a child as a British citizen is being cut from £1,214 to £1,000 — a reduction of £214. This has been a long-running concern for families who felt the fee was disproportionately high given that children born to settled parents have a legal entitlement to citizenship but still face a substantial charge. If you have a child eligible for citizenship registration and have been putting it off due to cost, the fee will be lower from 8 April.

What is not changing

Several major costs are staying the same:

What to do now

If you are eligible to apply for ILR, a Skilled Worker extension, or naturalisation before 8 April, and you have your supporting documents ready, it is worth doing the maths. For ILR applications, the saving is £197 per person; for citizenship, £104. For families applying together, that adds up quickly.

If you are not yet eligible — for example, your five-year qualifying period does not complete until later in 2026 — budget for the higher fees when you plan your application.

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