Last month the Home Office confirmed this year’s round of immigration application fee increases. The new fees will come into effect from 18 March, two weeks earlier than the usual annual increase date.

The other notable point about this year’s fee increases is that people applying to join or remain with family settled in the UK are seeing the greatest increases.

For example, a partner visa currently costs £956 (give or take exchange rate fluctuations, which affect fees paid in local currency). From 18 March that visa will cost £1,195. Applicants for leave to remain in the UK in the same category will see an increase from £649 to £811.

By contrast, the price of a Tier 1 Investor visa (for those with £2 million to invest in British gilts and shares) is increasing by a paltry £30.

The Home Office says that the increases in family visa fees reflect the fact that these are the visas that “deliver the most benefits to successful applicants”. The luxury of living with your partner and children must be paid for, with no thought apparently given to the hardship endured by unsuccessful applicants.

See all the fees increases on the Home Office website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table