§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will consider reviewing the current visa regime to permit regional variations in the levels of fees charged to reflect significant distinctions in per capita incomes of developing countries. [HL4254]
69WA
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalIt is our policy to set visa fees at levels which will ensure that we recover the full cost of the entry clearance operation, to avoid these costs falling to the taxpayer. This is achieved by setting fees on a global basis, without regional variations. To set different fee levels in different countries would be administratively cumbersome and would make full cost recovery more difficult to achieve. It might also distort demand in those countries where fee levels were lower.