Visas (Hansard, 1 July 2002)

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien

On 26 June, the Privy Council made the Consular Fees Order 2002, which sets out the new fees for UK visas with effect from 1 July.

Members of the House will recall that on 17 June the House approved the draft section 102 Order, made under The Finance (No. 2) Act 1987—following a debate in the Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation on 11 June. The section 102 Order provides the legal authority for the visa fee increase by allowing past deficits incurred in the costs of running the Entry Clearance operation to be taken into account when setting visa fees and for the cross-subsidisation of the costs of different entry clearance services.

Most visa fees will go up by between 8 per cent. and 10 per cent. The main increases are: Standard visit visa: up 9 per cent. from £33 to £36 The single entry visa has ceased to exist since the introduction in October 2000 of visas of leave to enter. The new standard visa for multiple entries valid for six months at £36 is cheaper than the old six-month multiple-entry visa, which provided the same level of service at a cost of £45. Five-year multiple-entry visa: up 10 per cent. from £80 to £88 Settlement visa: up 8 per cent. from £240 to £260 In addition, the long-term non-settlement visa fee will increase by 50 per cent. from £50 to £75.

A new 10-year multiple entry visa priced at £150 is also being introduced for the first time. There is growing demand for this kind of visa. Its introduction will provide an enhanced service to regular travellers to the UK, without compromising the integrity of the Immigration Control.

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The Consular Fees Order setting new visa fees is being made not only to cover current costs but also to recover past deficits of visa fees (from April 2000), caused by the increased cost of the entry clearance operation worldwide. It is intended that these increases will return the entry clearance operation to a self-financing basis by 2003–04.

We recognise that these fee increases will be unwelcome. However, we must make sure that the full cost of providing a visa service is covered by visa fees.

To put these increases into context: These would be the first fee increase for visitor's visas since 1995 The proposed increases still keep UKvisas within their Service Delivery Agreement commitment not to increase visa fees in real terms The standard visit visa at £36 is still cheaper than the old six-month multiple entry visa which provided the same level of service at a cost of £45 Applicants now get more for their money. Since October 2000, the standard visit visa has not only allowed people to visit the UK on multiple occasions during the validity of their leave to enter, they also benefit from an enhanced and speedier immigration process on arrival.

UKvisas is undertaking a range of measures to reduce costs and increase productivity. But these alone will not be sufficient to recover the deficit. The increases will enable UKvisas not only to recover past deficits, but also to cover the increased costs of the provision of visa services.