£15,000 Home Office fee: Application Processing for the Elite

Highly skilled applicants such as foreign footballers and international businessmen/women who need to extend their stay in the UK are being targeted with a special fast-track service which will allow them to avoid the repetitive delays and the humiliation that regularly occur during the UK visa application process.

The Premium+ service will entail a UK Border Agency (UKBA) official visiting the applicant either at their home or office to assess and process their immigration application. This will also include taking new biometric photographs and fingerprints and most importantly, will allow the Home Office caseworker to provide an immediate decision on their immigration application. Any dependants that are applying at the same time will be included in the £15,000 Home Office fee.

The UKBA acknowledges that the £15,000 fee for this premium service is significantly in excess of the £1,982 cost for providing the “Mobile biometric enrolment and case-working” service, however they are hoping that the benefit for the individual in obtaining a decision immediately in their own surroundings and to their convenience will attract wealthy migrants.

Applicants should remember that the fee does not cover any immigration advice or guidance. The Home Office caseworker will simply review a prepared application. The caseworker will not guide the applicant through the process of preparing the application in a manner that will meet the requirements.
The Mobile biometric enrolement and case-working service is currently only a pilot scheme, to allow the UKBA to test the revenue raising potential for the Home Office. Fifty appointments will be made available in the first 12 months from April 2010.