The UK government has announced a hike in visa, residency, and citizenship fees, effective April 8, 2026, affecting Nigerians and other foreign nationals.
The details is contained in a revised fee structure released by the UK Home Office on Thursday.
In the revised structure, there is increases across almost all visa categories, both for applications made within and outside the UK.
The categories affected include visit, student, and work visas, as well as settlement and naturalisation applications.
The new rates will take effect in less than two weeks.
This comes as Nigeria continues to rank among the largest sources of visa applicants to the UK, with hundreds of thousands applying annually for visit, student and work permits.
Under the updated fees, the cost of a short-term visit visa will increase from £127 to £135, while the student visa will rise from £524 to £558.
Applicants seeking permanent residency through indefinite leave to remain will now pay £3,226, up from £3,029. Those applying for British citizenship through naturalisation will pay £1,709, up from £1,605.
In contrast to the general upward trend, the fee for registering a child as a British citizen has been reduced from £1,214 to £1,000 — a drop of £214.
Some visa categories will not be affected by the changes. These include the Tier 1 (Investor) visa, which remains at £2,000, and the High Potential Individual visa, unchanged at £880.
Further breakdown of the revised fees shows the following adjustments:
Short-term (up to 6 months): £127 → £135; Long-term (up to 2 years): £475 → £506; Long-term (up to 5 years): £848 → £903; Long-term (up to 10 years): £1,059 → £1,128; Visiting academic (more than 6 months, up to 12 months): £220 → £234; Private medical treatment (more than 6 months, up to 11 months): £220 → £234; Direct airside transit visa: £39 → £41.50.
Others include: Landside transit visit visa: £70 → £74.50; Student visas (main applicant and dependants): £524 → £558; Child Student: £524 → £558; Short-term student (English language, over 6 months up to 11 months): £214 → £228.
Work visa adjustments include: Skilled Worker – up to 3 years: £769 → £819; Skilled Worker – over 3 years: £1,519 → £1,618; Skilled Worker (Immigration Salary List) – up to 3 years: £590 → £628; Skilled Worker (Immigration Salary List) – over 3 years: £1,160 → £1,235; Skilled Worker – Health and Care Visa – up to 3 years: £304 → £324; Skilled Worker – Health and Care Visa – over 3 years: £590 → £628; Innovator Founder: £1,274 → £1,357, among others.
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