UK visitor visa fees: budgeting for your application and optional services
A standard six-month UK visitor visa currently costs £135 per applicant. The overall cost of preparing and submitting an application can be higher if you need translations, pay an application-centre charge, choose a faster decision service or instruct an immigration adviser.
Before paying, identify the visa duration that fits your plans, how many people need applications and which additional services you intend to use. This gives you a more accurate budget than looking at the government application fee alone.
The government fees below were checked on 16 October 2026. Check the amount shown when you apply, particularly if you are paying in a currency other than pounds sterling.
How much is a UK visitor visa?
The published government fees for ordinary Standard Visitor applications are:
| Visa validity requested | Government application fee per person |
|---|---|
| Up to six months | £135 |
| Up to two years | £506 |
| Up to five years | £903 |
| Up to ten years | £1,128 |
These figures are confirmed in the Home Office fee table applying from 8 October 2026.
The Standard Visitor route covers purposes including tourism, visiting family and permitted business activities. The appropriate application depends on the actual purpose and circumstances of the visit.
Long-term validity concerns the period during which the visa can be used. A two, five or ten-year visitor visa normally permits individual visits of up to six months, subject to the permission granted. It does not authorise continuous residence for the full validity period.
Our UK visitor visa service explains how Knightsbridge assists with assessing proposed visits and preparing applications.
Are there different fees for longer medical or academic visits?
Certain visitors can apply for a stay exceeding six months where they meet additional requirements.
The published fee is £234 for an eligible private medical treatment visit lasting more than six months and up to eleven months. It is also £234 for an eligible academic visit lasting more than six months and up to twelve months.
These are specific provisions. They should not be selected simply because someone wants a longer holiday or family visit.
When budgeting, first establish the category of visit and the permission being requested. An application for a long-term visa allowing repeated short visits involves a different decision from an application for one extended medical or academic stay.
Does each family member pay a separate fee?
Each family member applying for a visitor visa needs a separate application and must pay the relevant fee. A shared itinerary or common financial supporter does not create a single family application fee.
At the current six-month rate, the government application fees would therefore be:
- Two applicants: £270.
- Three applicants: £405.
- Four applicants: £540.
These totals cover the visa application fees only.
Prepare the family budget applicant by applicant. Identify who needs translations, which appointment arrangements apply and whether any faster decision service will be purchased.
Some preparation can be coordinated, such as establishing the shared travel dates and funding arrangements. However, each application still needs accurate personal information and evidence relevant to that traveller.
Is a long-term visitor visa better value?
A longer-validity visa involves a larger payment at the outset. Whether that is worthwhile depends on your expected travel and circumstances.
Consider how often you realistically expect to visit, why those visits are likely and whether your situation supports the period requested. Avoid choosing the longest option purely because its cost appears lower when divided by the number of years.
There are also limits to what the larger fee secures. UKVI may grant a shorter visa than requested, and the published guidance states that the application fee is not refunded if a shorter visa is issued or the application is refused.
For a person with one planned trip and uncertain future travel, the immediate cost deserves particular consideration. Someone with an established reason for regular visits may assess the options differently.
The duration should follow the travel plans and circumstances being presented.
How much do priority and super priority services cost?
Where available, the published additional charges are:
| Faster decision service | Additional charge per applicant |
|---|---|
| Priority | £500 |
| Super priority | £1,000 |
These charges are added to the visa application fee. A six-month application with priority therefore starts at £635, while one with super priority starts at £1,135, before other applicable costs.
Availability depends on the application and location. The Home Office advises applicants outside the UK to check whether their visa application centre offers the relevant service.
Budget the additional charge for every applicant using the service. If two people both purchase priority, the additional cost is £1,000.
Before selecting an option, check what it covers and how its processing period is calculated. A faster decision service concerns processing speed. It does not change the requirements your application must satisfy.
What application-centre charges might apply?
Appointment arrangements can affect the total cost.
The Home Office says that most visa application centres offer free appointments, while some locations charge £76.50 for a standard appointment. Optional services, such as document scanning, may also be available for an additional payment.
Check the charges for the centre you intend to use. Distinguish any charge attached to using that location from optional assistance you can choose to purchase.
When comparing appointment options, include the practical cost of attending. A different centre may involve additional transport, accommodation or time away from work.
Read the description of any service package carefully. Establish whether it covers scanning, appointment facilities, faster decision processing or another service. Do not assume that a higher-priced package includes every option you need.
The government also makes clear that buying optional application-centre services does not make an application more likely to succeed.
Do visitors pay the Immigration Health Surcharge?
Applicants for visitor visas do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. This exemption applies to visitor visas, including long-term visitor visas used for repeated visits.
You should therefore avoid adding the annual surcharge used for certain other immigration routes to an ordinary visitor visa budget.
The exemption does not provide automatic access to all NHS treatment free of charge. Charges can apply when healthcare is used, subject to the relevant exemptions.
Consider any appropriate travel or medical insurance separately from the application fee. If the purpose of the visit is private medical treatment, the treatment costs also need their own assessment.
Allow for translations and document preparation
Some applications require expenditure before submission because the relevant evidence needs translation or must be obtained from an issuing organisation.
Documents that are not in English or Welsh require a full, independently verifiable translation meeting the Home Office’s stated requirements.
Identify the documents you intend to rely on before commissioning translations. This helps establish the likely cost and reduces the risk of paying to translate material that does not assist the application.
Ask the translator what the quote covers, including the complete document, certification details and delivery time. If several family members rely on the same record, explain that when obtaining the quote.
Other practical expenses may include obtaining replacement civil documents, requesting records or preparing readable copies. The amount will depend on the records already available and the organisations issuing them.
Keep these costs separate from optional application-centre scanning so that you can see whether you are paying twice for overlapping assistance.
How should professional fees be budgeted?
Professional fees depend on the work agreed.
A focused review of an application you have prepared involves a different scope from assistance with assessing the visit, identifying evidence, completing the form and preparing the application for submission.
Before instructing an adviser, establish what the quote includes. Relevant questions include whether it covers all travellers, document review, supporting explanations, submission assistance and any agreed follow-up work.
Ask how government charges, third-party costs and any applicable VAT are treated. Also clarify the payment stages and what would happen if the required work changes.
At Knightsbridge, the proposed work and applicable professional fee are agreed separately from government and third-party charges. Our Application and Document Review service provides one option for applicants who have already prepared their submission.
The scope should reflect the assistance needed. A previous refusal, unclear funding arrangement or proposed activity requiring closer assessment may affect that scope.
Example: a couple comparing six-month and two-year visas
Consider an illustrative couple planning to visit family in the UK.
They are comparing separate six-month applications with separate two-year applications.
| Option for both applicants | Combined government application fees |
|---|---|
| Two six-month visitor applications | £270 |
| Two two-year visitor applications | £1,012 |
The two-year option requires £742 more upfront in government application fees.
If both applicants also choose priority, where available, they would add a further £1,000 to either option. The six-month applications would then total £1,270 in application and priority charges alone.
The couple should consider their expected future visits before deciding which duration to request. They should also add any appointment charges, translations and professional fees to the comparison.
These calculations use the published fees checked on 16 October 2026. They illustrate application costs and do not predict whether either duration would be granted.
Can you get a refund if you cancel the application?
Refund entitlement depends on the stage reached and how you were instructed to prove your identity.
For applicants told to attend an appointment, the Home Office states that the application fee will be refunded if they cancel before providing fingerprints and a photograph. It will not usually be refunded after those biometrics have been provided. Different conditions apply where the identity-check app is used.
Check the current cancellation instructions before taking action. Cancelling the visa application and cancelling an appointment or additional service may involve separate steps.
Keep payment receipts and cancellation confirmations. Identify which organisation received each payment so that any refund request is directed appropriately.
A government application-fee refund does not automatically determine what happens to translation costs, application-centre services or professional work. Check the relevant service terms and applicable refund rights.
Are priority fees refunded if a decision takes longer?
A delayed decision does not automatically result in a priority-fee refund.
The published guidance states that a refund is not available where the delay arose because the Home Office needed further information or evidence. Other circumstances are considered individually, and a refund may be available for certain problems outside the Home Office’s control. Refusal of the application does not itself entitle you to a refund.
If you cancel the underlying application, separate priority-refund conditions apply. Check the rules against the stage reached and how the service was purchased.
For budgeting purposes, do not treat the priority payment as money that will necessarily be returned if the application takes longer than expected.
Keep application costs separate from the visit budget
The cost of applying is only one part of the overall financial picture.
You also need to account for travel, accommodation, daily expenses and other costs of the proposed visit. Identify who will meet those costs and what resources remain available after application expenses have been paid.
The visitor financial assessment does not operate through a single prescribed minimum bank balance. Home Office guidance considers the likely visit costs alongside available resources and continuing commitments.
For example, spending a substantial amount on longer-validity applications and optional services may reduce the money available for the actual trip. Include that effect when preparing the budget.
Our article on visitor visa bank balances and financial evidence explains how the financial evidence relates to the proposed visit.
Check the total before making payment
Prepare a final cost list covering the government fee for each applicant, any selected faster decision service, applicable appointment charges, document costs and agreed professional fees.
Record who will pay each item and when payment is due. For a family application, this can help distinguish the applicant’s own expenditure from support provided by relatives.
Use the official visa fees checker to check the charge relevant to the country of application, and confirm the amount displayed before payment.
Keep the payment confirmations with the application records. If you are comparing quotations, compare the work and services included as well as the headline total.
How Knightsbridge can help with your visitor application
Knightsbridge can assess your proposed visit and explain the application work needed before you commit to professional assistance.
Depending on the agreed service, we can help identify relevant evidence, prepare or review the application, clarify funding arrangements and check consistency across the submission.
We will explain the proposed scope and professional fee so that you can include the agreed work in your application budget.
To discuss assistance, tell us how many people intend to travel, the purpose and expected dates of the visit, the visa duration you are considering and whether any applicant has previously been refused a visa.
