UK spouse visa fees in 2026: what it really costs

The Home Office charges two main amounts for a spouse visa: the application fee and the immigration health surcharge. Add the cost of tests, translations and any priority service, and the full figure is often higher than couples expect. Here is the position for 2026.

Application fee

• Applying from outside the UK (entry clearance): £2,064.
• Applying from inside the UK (extension or switching, FLR(M)): £1,407.
• Settlement as a partner (SET(M)): £3,226.

Fees normally change in April each year. The fee is not refunded if the application is refused.

Immigration health surcharge

The surcharge gives you NHS care and is £1,035 a year, paid upfront for the whole visa. A first visa from abroad is 33 months, charged as £3,105; an extension in the UK is 30 months, charged as £2,587.50 (the surcharge is charged in six-month blocks, so two and a half years is two and a half times the annual rate). It is not charged on a fiancé visa, which lasts six months, or at settlement.

Totals

• First application from abroad: £2,064 fee plus £3,105 surcharge, £5,169 to the Home Office.
• Extension in the UK: £1,407 plus £2,587.50, £3,994.50.
• Settlement: £3,226.
• Across the full five-year route, about £12,200 in Home Office charges for one applicant.

Optional and extra costs

• Priority service, a decision in around 30 working days from abroad or 5 working days in the UK: £500 where offered.
• Super priority, a decision by the end of the next working day, UK applications: £1,000.
• English test: around £150. Life in the UK test (settlement only): £50.
• TB test, where required: £50 to £150 depending on the country.
• Certified translations: typically £30 to £60 a page.
• Biometric enrolment at some overseas centres: around £20.

Solicitors' fees

Preparing the application professionally is optional, and it is where refusals are prevented. We charge a fixed fee from £1,000 plus VAT for a spouse visa application, agreed in writing before we start and not dependent on the result: see our fees. Set that against a refused application, which costs the full fee and months apart.

Can the fee be reduced or waived?

Yes, in limited cases. Inside the UK you can ask for a fee waiver on a family or human rights application if paying would leave you unable to meet essential living costs. A separate fee waiver covers applications from abroad that rest on family life, including spouse and partner visas. Both are rarely granted where the sponsor earns over £29,000. See fee waiver and exceptional circumstances.