The purpose of the IHS is to "ensure that migrants make a proper financial contribution to the cost of their NHS care". Alarmingly, the charge has doubled since it was first introduced in 2015. The current rate, in place since January 2019, is £400 per year (£300 for certain visa categories).
When do I need to pay the IHS fee?
Generally, you will need to pay the IHS fee if you are submitting an immigration application outside the UK for a visa length of more than 6 months, or for any length of time if you are applying from within the UK. The following categories of visas will be required to pay for the IHS fee as part of their immigration application:
What are the IHS fees for UK student visas?
The IHS fee is charged per year of the length of your visa. In general, you will have to pay the following amounts for your IHS fees: £470 per year for a Student Route Visa or Youth Mobility Scheme Visa £470 per year for applicants under the age of 18 at the point of application
What is the immigration health surcharge (IHS) increase?
This is a very sensible approach by the UK Government, the applicants will receive a 21 days notice of the increase taking place. The UK government has announced that the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is set to increase from £400 to £624 a year following their initial announcement in their manifesto during the 2019 election campaign.
Do I have to pay the IHS If I study abroad?
If your course of study is 6 months or less, you do not need to pay the IHS. You’ll be able to apply for an IHS reimbursement from 1 January 2022. If you’re a student from the EU, your reimbursement will be backdated to include any surcharge payments made for a visa starting on or after 1 January 2021.
What is the cost of IHS for UK visa?
Your visa should last for 17 months in total so you will be required to pay an IHS fee of £705 (£470 + £235).
How much is IHS fee for UK spouse visa?
The NHS fee for Spouse Visa applicants And since the initial Spouse Visa lasts 30 months, applicants will need to pay £1,560 to satisfy the fee. In most cases, those seeking a Partner Visa will be expected to pay: £1,523 for the Spouse Visa itself. £1,560 for the IHS.
What happens if you dont pay IHS?
What happens if I don't pay IHS? You'll get an email from UK Visas and Immigration if you do not pay the surcharge (or do not pay enough) as part of your visa or immigration application. Once you get the email, you must pay the surcharge within: 10 working days if you're inside the UK.
Is IHS fee refundable UK?
IHS refund The IHS fee is refunded in full if your visa application is refused or if you withdraw your application before a decision has been made. The refund is automatically paid to the account or card you paid with. Find out more on IHS refund online at the GOV.UK website.
How is IHS calculated?
In most cases, you can calculate the IHS due for a particular visa application by multiplying the number of years of leave applied for by £624. If the duration of leave is not a round number of years, it needs to be rounded up to the nearest half year.
Do I have to pay NHS surcharge for ILR?
You need to pay the healthcare surcharge if you apply for indefinite leave to remain but are only given limited leave. You'll need to pay before you're given the leave.
How do I pay for IHS in Nigeria?
You can make the IHS payment online using your debit or credit card. You will be asked for the start and end dates mentioned on your COS (certificate of sponsorship) for work applications and your official course dates for application in the student category.
Does IHS cover dental?
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) pays for access to NHS healthcare services but does not cover individual treatment costs such as prescriptions, dental treatment and sight tests.
Who is exempt from immigration health surcharge?
Tier 2/Skilled Worker Visa holders and their family members are now exempt from having to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Other visas still attract a charge for IHS.
What are the benefits of IHS in UK?
Paying the IHS means that you will be entitled to use the National Health Service in the UK. You will have access to emergency health care and will not be charged for hospital treatment or further medical treatment. However please note that you will still need to pay for prescriptions, dental treatments and eye tests.
Do I have to pay IHS again?
You'll have to repay the IHS if your appeal or administrative review is successful and you've already got your IHS refund. You might have to repay a different amount if: the length of your stay changes. you get less time on your visa than you asked for.
What happens if IHS payment is declined 5 times?
If the Immigration Health Surcharge is declined 5 times, the online application form is cancelled and must be re-entered from the start.
How do I pay for IHS in Nigeria?
You can make the IHS payment online using your debit or credit card. You will be asked for the start and end dates mentioned on your COS (certificate of sponsorship) for work applications and your official course dates for application in the student category.
How much funds are required for UK spouse visa?
The requirements that an applicant must meet in order to obtain a spouse visa are set out in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. These rules contain a minimum income requirement of at least £18,600 or a cash savings requirement of at least £62,500 (or a combination of both).
How much is a spousal visa?
Estimated marriage-based visa cost: $1,200 The U.S. citizen spouse submits the marriage relationship form (I-130 petition) and other required materials to USCIS, along with the $535 filing fee.
What is IHS charge?
Overview. You might need to pay a healthcare surcharge (called the 'immigration health surcharge' or IHS ) as part of your immigration application. Whether you need to pay depends on the immigration status you're applying for.
How much is the IHS fee?
The IHS fee is charged per year of the length of your visa. In general, you will have to pay the following amounts for your IHS fees: £470 per year...
Who is exempt from the IHS fee?
There are some categories of visa and immigration categories that provide for exemption from the IHS fee. These categories include visas under 6 mo...
How much should I pay for the immigration health surcharge?
Depending upon the category of your visa and the length of your visa, you can expect to pay, in total, between £470 for a one year Student Visa to...
How much is the IHS fee for a student visa?
For Student Visas, the IHS fee currently costs £470 per year. You must pay the full fee upfront for your degree. If your course includes part of a...
Overview
You might need to pay a healthcare surcharge (called the ‘immigration health surcharge’ or IHS) as part of your immigration application. Whether yo...
Who needs to pay
You usually need to pay the healthcare surcharge if you’re applying for a visa or immigration application: for more than 6 months, if you’re applyi...
How much you have to pay
The exact amount you pay depends on the length of the visa you’re given. A visa may last longer than your course of study or period of employment....
Pay the healthcare surcharge
If you’re making an immigration application online you pay the healthcare surcharge as part of the application process. You must complete the payme...
Refunds
You’ll get a full immigration health surcharge (IHS) refund if: you paid twice your visa application is refused you withdraw your visa application...
When will IHS go live?
When the student IHS reimbursement scheme goes live on 1 January 2022, you’ll be asked to declare if you:
How long can you get treatment on a visa?
You can access treatment from the date your visa is granted until it expires.
Where is EHIC issued?
you have a European Health Insurance Card ( EHIC) issued in an EU country or Switzerland
Can IHS reimburse students?
A student is only eligible for an IHS reimbursement if they do not work during the time the IHS covers.
What is the IHS fee?
The Immigration Health Surcharge, commonly abbreviated to “IHS”, is a fee that you must pay as a part of your visa application.
Who is required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)?
UK visa applicants and their dependants must pay the immigration health surcharge, whether they are applying from inside or outside the UK – unless an exemption applies.
Why is my IHS refund on hold?
Your IHS refund will normally be put on hold if you seek an Administrative review on your visa application.
How long does it take to get a refund from IHS?
You will automatically receive the IHS refund to the card with which you made the payment. Generally, you get your IHS refund within 6 weeks of a decision on your visa application.
Do you have to pay for NHS services?
You are still required to pay for certain NHS services, such as prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests, etc.
Spouse Sponsor Visa
I applied for my spouse visa from outside uk which got rejected - is there any quicker way to do application fees waiver and send all the required documents which were missing from initial application? I do have appeal option but that will take longer i guess? Thanks for your response on this.
Re: Spouse Sponsor Visa
What do you mean by 'a fee waiver'? An appeal can take many months or more for a decision. Documents which weren't available to the ECO in your original application won't be considered in an appeal. What were the reasons for the refusal?
Re: Spouse Sponsor Visa
They said under relationship requirement; we didn't attached the call logs or chat evidence - under financial they wanted to see my accommodation proof - under English language requirement i had the normal IELTS but not the IELTS for UKVI. I am planning to re-apply as that would be quicker unless you suggest any other options?
Re: Spouse Sponsor Visa
I would re-apply. You'll have to pay the visa and the IHS fee, but you should be refunded the original IHS fee.
Re: Spouse Sponsor Visa
They said under relationship requirement; we didn't attached the call logs or chat evidence - under financial they wanted to see my accommodation proof - under English language requirement i had the normal IELTS but not the IELTS for UKVI.
Re: Spouse Sponsor Visa
Also do ensure when re-applying that your sponsor's most recent payslip & the corresponding bank statement is no older than 28 days on the date the application is submitted.
Re: Spouse Sponsor Visa
Moreover, also make sure that your TB test report (if you are required) shouldn't have been expired at the time of re-applying.
What is the IHS fee?
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a fee levied on visa applicants seeking leave to enter or remain in the UK. In this way, visa holders will have free access to NHS services.
What is the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)?
When applying for a visa to come to the UK to live or work, you might need to pay a healthcare surcharge. This is called the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Whether or not you need to pay, and how much, will depend on the type of immigration status that you are applying for.
How long does it take to get IHS refund?
However, this will usually be within 6 weeks of any decision on your visa application or 6 weeks from the date of any reimbursement application.
Who can claim IHS refund?
You can claim an IHS refund if your visa application is refused or withdrawn. You may also be entitled to a reimbursement if your healthcare is paid for by an EU country, or you work in health and social care.
How do I get a refund from the UKVI?
In some instances, you may receive an automatic refund from UKVI for any healthcare surcharge paid, for example, where your visa application has been refused or withdrawn. If you’re eligible, you may also apply online under the IHS reimbursement scheme.
How to apply for IHS reimbursement?
An application under the IHS reimbursement scheme must be made online on the UK government website. To apply you will need your IHS number, your National Insurance number, your email address, the name of your employer and scanned or screenshot copies of your payslips for the 6 month period that you’re claiming for. If you’re applying for your dependants, you will also need their IHS number.
How to get my IHS money back?
There are different ways to get your money back if you’ve paid the IHS, depending on your visa and job role. If you a hold visa under the Tier 5 Government Authorised Exchange Medical Training Initiative or Tier 5 Medical Training Initiative, a refund will be requested on your behalf by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and processed by UKVI. Notification will be sent to you when payment of the refund has been made.
2. Visitor
The most popular visa for visiting UK from Nigeria is the standard visitor visa. However, depending on the purpose of visiting the UK, Nigerians can apply for other types of visitor visas such as short term English Language, marriage, medical, permitted paid engagement etc.
3. Transit
The transit visa is for those Nigerians who intend to transit the UK on route to another country outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) and who will enter the UK for up to 48 hours by crossing the UK border unless Appendix Visitor: Transit Without Visa Scheme applies.
4. How to Study in UK from Nigeria?
For studying in the UK, a Nigerian need to apply for the student visa, which has replaced the Tier 4 (General) Student as of October 5, 2020.
5. Family
The family route covers visas where a Nigerian is applying for a UK visa because of their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen. This includes spouse settlement visa, adult dependant relative, parent of a British Child visa etc.
6. Work
Nigerians can apply for UK work visa. The most popular visa in Nigeria for working in the UK is the Skilled Worker (previously Tier 2 General). However, Nigerians can apply for other types of UK work visa such as Innovator, Startup, Global Talent, Health and Care Worker etc.
8. Other UK Visas and Services Fees in Nigeria 2021
The UK Visa Fees in Nigeria 2021/22 for Other Visas and Services are as under:
What is the IHS charge?
Immigration Health Surcharge or IHS is the UK’s healthcare charge that non-EEA migrants need to pay to use the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
When was IHS introduced?
IHS was introduced by the UK government in April 2015 urging migrants to make a fair contribution towards the costs of NHS. Initially, migrants outside of the EEA applying for more than six months of UK stay had to pay additional fees of £200 per year along with their application.
When will IHS increase come into effect?
The IHS increase will come into effect for all applications submitted from October 2020 onwards. The increase was announced by Rishi Sunak when the budget plans were presented to Parliament yesterday. The document states:
When will the immigration health surcharge increase?
Update (06 October 2020): The order was made today, the Immigration Health Surcharge increase will take place 21 days from now on 27 October 2020.
Who is exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge?
Those applying for visitor visas or indefinite leave to remain (ILR) are exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge.
