UK visa becomes expensive from today; new rules to affect many Indians

Get ready to shell out more for UK visa as the UK’s decision to increase the visa fee is going to come into effect from Thursday.

Also, applying for a visa is going to get tougher and the changes are going to affect Indians.

In March 2016, the UK home office had announced new rules for Tier 2 category of visas, a route used by many Indians. Companies in the UK hiring workers from outside the EU now will have to shell out an additional 1,000 annual "Immigration Skills Charge".

"Set at 1,000 per employee per year, and a reduced rate of p364 for small or charitable organisations, it (Immigration Skills Charge) is designed to cut down on the number of businesses taking on migrant workers and incentivise training British staff to fill those jobs," the home office said in a statement.

An exemption to the charge will mean that it will not apply to PhD-level jobs and international students switching from student visas to working visas - "a key protection to help retain the talented workers and students who are vital in helping the British economy grow," it said.