Table Of Contents:
- What is the UK Visa Fee Waiver
- Fee Waiver for Applicants Making Human Rights Claims for Entry Clearance
- Fee Waiver for Applicants Making Human Rights Claims for Permission to Stay
- Other Non-human Rights Applications that may be Eligible for Fee Waiver
- Partial Fee Waiver
- Criteria for Fee Waiver
- Evidence Required to Prove
- Grounds for Rejection of Fee Waiver Request
- Does a Fee Waiver Request Affect a UK Visa Application
- What if you cannot afford to pay the immigration health surcharge
- What if your fee waiver request is rejected
- Final Thoughts
UK immigration fees are quite expensive. Many visa fees have been further increased, effective April 9, 2025. It is quite realistic that many people looking to apply for entry clearance or permission to stay may be unable to pay the fee. The fee waiver application allows you to request to exempt yourself and dependents from paying the visa fee because you and your sponsor cannot afford the immigration fees.
In this article, we are going to discuss what you need to know about the fee waiver in the UK.
What is the UK Visa Fee Waiver?
A fee waiver is a request made to the Home Office to grant the applicant and/or their dependents exemptions from paying the immigration fee. Those making a specified human rights application can be granted a fee waiver where asking the applicant to make the visa fee would be incompatible with a person’s rights under the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) Article 8. The fee waiver can be granted to applicants who cannot afford the fee through their income and/or savings and have human rights claims.
Fee Waiver for Applicants Making Human Rights Claims for Entry Clearance
- The applicant is a partner or child of a member of HM Forces.
- The applicant is a partner or child of a member of HM Forces where the sponsor:
- Is a Commonwealth or foreign member of HM Forces
- Has reckonable service in HM forces for at least 4 years on the date of application
3. The applicant is applying as a family member under Appendix FM where the sponsor:
- Is present and settled in the UK
- Has refugee or humanitarian protection status in the UK
Fee Waiver for Applicants Making Human Rights Claims for Permission to Stay
Usually fee waivers can be claimed by the following applicants who are
- Applying for permission to stay for a five-year partner route
- Applying for permission to stay for a five-year parent route
- Applying for permission to stay for a five-year private-life route
- Applying for permission to stay for a ten-year partner, parent, or private life route
- Applying for permission to stay based on the ECHR. For this, human rights should constitute a substantive basis of the claim.
- Applying for further permission to stay who have been granted discretionary leave following refusal of asylum or humanitarian protection. For this, they need to claim that refusal of permission would breach their ECHR rights.
- Applying for further discretionary leave as victims of trafficking or slavery, they had a positive conclusive grounds decision initially, have already accrued 30 months since discretionary leave was granted, and they are now seeking to extend their leave for trafficking or slavery-related reasons.
- Applying for permission to stay as a child staying with or joining a non-parent relative (Appendix CNP) under Appendix Child.
Other Non-human Rights Applications that may be Eligible for Fee Waiver:
- Applications for ILR by victims of domestic abuse
- Applications for ILR by bereaved partners
Partial Fee Waiver
The main applicant and other dependents applying for a visa can apply for a fee waiver for one or more family members, including the main applicant. In these circumstances, you need to complete a fee waiver request form for the relevant individual dependent family members. The main applicant will be asked to specify which dependents are applying for a fee waiver and which are not.
However, it is not possible to pay part of the application fee and have part of it waived for individual applicants. This means if you can pay an applicant’s fee in part only, you will be granted a full fee waiver.
Criteria for Fee Waiver
You must prove to the Home Office that you and your sponsor are unable to pay the fee because you do not have sufficient funds at your disposal to pay the required fee after meeting your essential living needs and continuing to meet any child’s essential needs, such as housing, utilities, and food. This is the primary assessment by the Home Office to decide whether a fee waiver should be granted.
You must prove that if you are not given the fee waiver and thus the visa, it would create a significant impact on the child, also known as assessing the child’s best interest.
Evidence Required to Prove
The Home Office caseworker will seek the following information and evidence:
- You and your sponsor’s income,
- Accommodation, the type and adequacy of accommodation,
- The amount of your rent/mortgage or your contribution towards this, and
- Your expenses in terms of spending on things like food and utility bills.
You need to support the information with independent evidence, such as your sponsor’s and/or your pay slips, bank statements, tenancy agreement, and utility bills.
If you or your sponsor is being supported by family or friends, by central or local government, or by a registered charity, you will be expected to provide corroborating documentary evidence confirming the provision of support, particularly if the support is being offered by charities or government authorities, which details the nature and amount of the support provided.
If you and/or your sponsor and/or a dependent family member have a physical or mental disability, you need to prove this by means of independent documentary evidence, such as a letter from a hospital consultant. All evidence must be up to date.
Any document not in English or Welsh must be fully translated into either of these two languages. You need to submit the copies of the original and certified translation copies.
Grounds for Rejection of Fee Waiver Request
Your fee waiver request may be rejected if you or your sponsor fails to provide reliable information about the provision of essential living needs, availability of accommodation, income level and expenses, and overall financial circumstances.
It may be rejected if the Home Office reasonably concludes that you or your sponsor has intentionally disposed of funds. For example, you or your sponsor gave a loan to a third party.
Your fee waiver application may also be rejected if you or your sponsor has been buying items that are not for essential living needs and there is evidence that you and your sponsor are not taking reasonable and proportionate steps to ensure that you have sufficient funds to pay a foreseeable fee.
Does a Fee Waiver Request Affect a UK Visa Application?
No, the result of a fee waiver request does not affect the result of a visa application. However, it may delay your application.
What if you cannot afford to pay the immigration health surcharge?
If you cannot afford to pay the visa fee, your IHS fee will also be waived automatically. However, if you can pay the whole of the visa fee but cannot pay the IHS fully or partially, you will have to pay the immigration fee, and the waiver will be applied to the IHS.
What if your fee waiver request is rejected?
You cannot apply for an appeal or reconsideration request. However, you can reapply for a fee waiver request.
Final Thoughts
The UK immigration fee waiver is a mechanism that allows applicants applying on a human rights basis to claim a fee waiver if they and their sponsor cannot afford to pay the fee. The fee waiver request can be made for immigration fees, and if granted, their HIS (immigration health surcharge) is automatically waived.
However, you must provide essential information and evidence to the UKVI caseworker to prove your income and expenses, accommodation, and other details. If your fee waiver request is rejected, there is no provision for an appeal or reconsideration request. You can either pay the visa fee or make a new fee waiver request.
You should get help from an expert immigration lawyer, as the complete process of fee waiver is quite complex.
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