Last month, a reader left a message saying that he was waiting for the end of the fifth year and the money had already been saved - £3,029, no more or less. As a result, the materials were ready to be submitted in mid-April, and the amount that popped up in the system became £3,226.
The difference was £197, not much, but he was stunned for two seconds. If it's a family of four having sex together, this "two seconds" becomes a gap of nearly £800.
When it comes to permanent residence, everyone usually calculates time - five years, 180 days, continuous residence. But when it comes to submission, it is often money that gets stuck. Today we will calculate this account from beginning to end in 2026.
How much will the UK permanent residence application fee be in 2026? £3,226 per person
From April 8, 2026, the official fee for applying for permanent residence (Indefinite Leave to Remain, ILR) in the UK will increase from £3,029 to and £3,226 per person for , an increase of approximately 6.5%. This time, the Ministry of Home Affairs has adjusted almost all categories. Visa, permanent residence, naturalization, and sponsorship licenses have generally increased by 6-7%.
There are a few things about this number that are particularly easy to misunderstand:
First, it is "per person", not "per household". : £3,226 for the main applicant, £3,226 for the spouse, and £3,226 for each accompanying child. Many people subconsciously think that there is a package price for family applications - there is no such thing.
Second, this price is suitable for most mainstream paths. Skilled Worker transfer to permanent residence, spouse five-year path, 10-year Long Residence, Global Talent, all receive this amount. However, refugee status, humanitarian protection, Section 67 leave and other categories are free; EU Settled Status does not charge this fee either.
Third, the fee is calculated based on the price list "at the moment of submission and payment", not based on the date when you are five years old. So March and April every year are a subtle window - if you qualify in early April, you may save hundreds of pounds by paying a few days earlier.
Do I need to pay IHS to apply for permanent residence in the UK? This is the biggest misunderstanding
The answer is: No need for .
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is currently £1,035 per year for adults and £776 per year for students, children under 18 and Youth Mobility holders. This amount of money is overwhelming when renewing a work permit or a spouse's visa - for a three-year work permit, IHS alone is £3,105.
However, permanent residence application is exempted from IHS. The logic is very straightforward: ILR is an indefinite residence permit, and there is no "number of years" to multiply it. Once you get it, you will be the same as a local in front of NHS.
So don’t be scared by the agency’s “total permanent residence fee starts from £10,000”. What really hurts the work visa families is the renewal of the visa in the years before + IHS. The permanent residence itself is a one-time thing.
By the way, the domestic Skilled Worker renewal in 2026 is £943 for less than three years and £1,865 for more than three years, plus IHS. Just be aware of it.
How much does it cost to expedite permanent residence? The difference between £500 and £1,000
There is no legal deadline for a standard trial, and official guidance is that the results will be available within 6 months. In practice, for most people, it ranges from a few weeks to a few months. If you can’t afford to wait, there are two express options, and the price has not changed since October 2023:
🟢 Priority (£500) : The target is to provide results within 5 working days after recording the biometric information.
🔵 Super Priority (£1,000) : The target is to have results before the end of the next working day.
Note two points. First, the expedited tickets are limited and often cannot be purchased directly during peak periods; second, the expedited tickets for are based on the "queuing order" and are not "necessary to pass" . Once the case is transferred to complex review, the expedited fee will not be refunded and the time will still be delayed. If the material itself has flaws, expediting it will only make you receive bad news faster.
In addition, the UKVCAS standard reservation for fingerprint recording is free of charge , but in popular cities there are often no seats available for several weeks. Paid reservations (assisted scanning, prime time, Premium Lounge) range from tens to hundreds of pounds - this money only buys reservation position, not approval speed, don't get confused.
Hidden costs of getting permanent residence in the UK: exam fees and naturalization fees
In addition to the main application fee, there are several small sums of money, which add up to not a small amount:
Life in the UK Test: £50 per session. ’s standard time slot from Monday to Friday 10:00–16:00 is this price; during non-working hours, or a seat booked 24–48 hours in advance is £75; emergency seat within 24 hours is £80. If you fail the exam and retake it, you will have to pay and another £50 - this is the most underestimated item. If you fail the exam two or three times, you will lose more than 100 pounds.
English proficiency certificate. If you cannot be exempted by degree or nationality, you need to take the SELT (B1 and above). The price varies with the institution and costs around £150.
Naturalization after permanent residence. From April 2026, the adult naturalization fee will rise to £1,709, plus the oath ceremony of £130, the total will be £1,839. There is good news: the child registration fee has been reduced from £1,214 to £1,000.
Calculating this, the official cost for a family of four from permanent residence to naturalization is: ILR 4 × £3,226 ≈ £12,904, Life in the UK for two adults £100, and naturalization for two adults £3,678 + two children £2,000. The total is close to £18,700 – not including legal fees and any expediting.
Pay close attention in the second half of 2026: Earned Settlement reforms have not yet been implemented
The biggest suspense this year is not the cost, but the rules themselves.
The Home Office's public consultation on "Earned Settlement" ended on February 12, 2026, and received approximately 130,000 responses - a number that is very rare for UK immigration policy consultations. The core direction is: Permanent residence is no longer automatically obtained after completing the period, but depends on contribution, law-abiding record, and degree of integration. The qualification period for some paths may be extended from 5 years.
However, as of now, ’s final Immigration Rules amendments and transitional provisions have not been announced to , and there is no confirmed effective date. The official stance is that it will be later this year. So any statement on the Internet that categorically says "you must wait 10 years" is just speculation.
There is only one pragmatic approach: If you are already qualified or close to being qualified under the current rules, don’t delay . Transitional provisions generally protect the person who "has submitted" rather than the person who "originally intended to submit".
If you are not sure when you will be five years old and how much buffer you have left in the number of days you have left the country, you can use the 永居计算器 APP to calculate the number of days and click on the menu bar at the bottom of this official account to use it. If you are really unsure about the borderline situation, you can also ask a licensed lawyer to take a look and decide whether to submit before the rules change.
📌 This article of is for reference only. The fees are subject to the latest announcement of GOV.UK. Please consult a licensed lawyer for specific questions.
[Data source] GOV.UK — Visa fees (effective version on April 8, 2026); GOV.UK — Indefinite leave to remain each path page; GOV.UK — Life in the UK Test; Home Office "Earned Settlement" consultation document.
Let’s talk about your budget for permanent residence in the UK
I would like to hear your actual situation in the comment area: When do you plan to submit your permanent residence application? Will you do it earlier in order to catch up with the rule changes? If has already been handed in, please tell us how much it actually cost and how long you waited - the real numbers will be particularly useful to the people behind.
If you find it useful, bookmark this article so you can check it out later when checking costs. 💚
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