The cost of permanent residence in the UK will rise to £3,226 in 2026. Do you still have to pay IHS?

I was deeply impressed by a reader's message: She and her husband's permanent residence window opened in mid-April this year, and they discussed "saving money for another month." As a result, after a delay, the expense bill increased by an extra 400 pounds overnight.

She asked me: Was the money wasted? The answer is a bit heartbreaking - yes. But what is more worth mentioning is that many people have calculated this calculation in the wrong direction: what really makes the total cost of permanent residence get out of control is often not the increase of 197 pounds, but three things: whether IHS should be paid, whether to expedite the purchase, and how a family can queue up for .

GOV.UK's fee schedule was updated to a new version on April 8, 2026, . The main application fee for applying for permanent residence in China (Indefinite Leave to Remain, referred to as ILR) has been adjusted from £3,029 to and £3,226, which is an extra £197 per person.

This round does not only affect permanent residence. Most immigration fees have been raised by about 6% to 7%:

· Naturalization application fee increased by £104 to £1,709 (excluding oath ceremony fee)
· Spouse visa domestic renewal FLR(M): £1,321 → £1,407
· Skilled Worker domestic renewal: within 3 years £943, more than 3 years £1,865

The only thing that bucked the trend and dropped was the naturalization registration fee for minors - from £1,214 to £1,000. Families with children born in the UK who qualify for registration will save £214.

There is a technical detail to pay attention to: which version of the fee is applicable depends on the moment is submitted and paid online, not the date when you make an appointment for biometric information collection, nor the date when the Ministry of the Interior makes a decision. Therefore, people who "submitted on April 7 and collected on April 20" paid the old price.

Let me give the conclusion first: applies for ILR itself and does not need to pay IHS (Immigration Health Surcharge).

The reason is not complicated. IHS is charged based on the number of years of "limited leave". You have to pay the visa for as many years as you need it. Permanent residence is an indefinite stay, there is no "number of years", and naturally there is no base by which it can be multiplied.

Many people are frightened by the statement on the Internet that "the total cost of permanent residence starts from 10,000 pounds". In fact, that kind of algorithm adds all the IHS paid during the renewal process in the past five years - that money has already been paid during the renewal process, and is not paid again for the permanent residence step.

The current IHS standard is still the one set on February 6, 2024, and the current April price adjustment of has not changed IHS:

· Adult principal applicant: £1,035 / year
· Students, dependents of students, Youth Mobility Scheme, children under 18 at the time of application: £776 / year

But there are two pitfalls that must be remembered.

Pitfall 1: Permanent residence was not approved, but limited-term residence was changed, and IHS was submitted. For example, if the number of consecutive days of residence is not exceeded and the visa is downgraded, the Ministry of Interior may not refuse the visa directly, but may give you a limited leave. In this case, the IHS corresponding to that period of residence must be paid back.

Pitfall 2 of : After getting permanent residence, the IHS you paid before will not be automatically refunded. ’s previous limited-term residence permit really existed, and the money will not be refunded. What can really trigger a refund is situations such as "the application is rejected/withdrawn, or the approved period is shorter than the period paid", which are two different things from "upgrading to permanent residence".

You can purchase additional accelerated services for domestic permanent residence applications, and the prices will also be raised simultaneously in April:

· Priority Service: +£500, target results within 5 working days
· Super Priority Service: +£1,000, target results within the next working day

Pay attention to the word "target". Once the materials are withdrawn for further review (such as marriage authenticity, employer compliance, residence gap), the expedited application will be dropped back into the regular queue, and the money will usually not be refunded.

My judgment standard is very simple: expedited buying is not about speed, but about certainty. If you are going to change jobs in the near future, go abroad to visit relatives, or have loan approval stuck on your ID card, £1,000 to change to a clear point in time is a good deal. If you just "want to feel at ease as soon as possible", then you might as well keep the thousand pounds to pay the naturalization fee.

Another point that is often overlooked: the express quota is limited every day and is quickly grabbed up after opening in the morning. The quota itself is a scarce resource, and you are not guaranteed to buy it if you want to. (The same logic also appears in the CoS priority quota on the employer side - the number is released at 7am every working day, UK time, and clears in a few seconds. There is a £99 automatic seat grabbing service on justiscript.com. Employers who are stuck at this step can check it out.)

According to the standards starting from April 8, 2026, three common combinations are roughly calculated (excluding attorney fees, language tests, and translation notarization):

① Single applicant, not urgent : £3,226.

② Couple applying at the same time, no expedited : £6,452.

③ Two large, two small and four people, all expedited : application fee £12,904 + expedited £4,000 = £16,904.

The application fee alone for a family of four is approaching £13,000 - the most discussed figure after this round of price changes. Moreover, each person's expedited service must be purchased separately, and there is no "family package".

Here is a money-saving idea that many families have not thought of: minor children do not necessarily need to take permanent residence as . If the child is born in the UK and one of the parents obtains permanent residence or naturalization after the child is born, the child can often go directly to register for naturalization (£1,000, the price has been reduced this time), which is much cheaper than going through ILR, and you can get a passport in one step. It depends on the date of birth and the identity status of the parents at the time, so don't make the decision on your own.

1. Calculate the "first day you can pay" accurately. The five-year path can usually be submitted within 28 days before the completion of five years. One day earlier will not work, and one day later will cost more. After cross-calculating the entry and exit records, the number of consecutive days of residence, and the start and end dates of the visa, many people will find that they arrive a month or two earlier than they imagined. You can use the 永居计算器 APP to do this kind of daily calculation, or you can pull up an entry-exit form for verification.

2. Don’t leave Life in the UK and B1 until the end. It takes time to get exam quota and reissue transcripts. Many people are either not prepared for the money or the exam is stuck in the submission window and have to wait until the next round of price increases.

3. When encountering a clear price adjustment announcement, submit the application in advance. The Ministry of Interior’s price adjustments in recent years have basically been concentrated in spring (around April) and summer and autumn (around July). Once you see the new fee schedule and effective date posted by GOV.UK, complete the "submit + payment" action before the effective date to lock in the old price.

4. Ask about boundary conditions before spending money. has been out of the country for just over 180 days, has had a work permit interrupted in the middle, and his spouse’s income does not meet the standard. Under these circumstances, spending £3,226 to gamble is too risky, and the application fee itself is basically non-refundable after being rejected. If you just want a professional to confirm a specific question, for £5 on justiscript.com you can get a written reply from a practicing British lawyer within 24 hours, in both Chinese and English, which is more reliable than guessing on the forum yourself.

In one sentence: There is no need to pay IHS for the permanent residence step. The main application fee is and £3,226. An additional £500 or £1,000 will be charged for expedited applications. The real big deal is the renewal fees and IHS you have paid in the past five years, and the only thing you can optimize now is "when to press the submit button."

📌 Fees are adjusted according to policies. Please refer to the latest fee schedule of GOV.UK before submission. This article is for reference only. Please consult a licensed attorney for specific questions.

💬 Chat in the comment area: , is your permanent residence window before the price increase or after the price increase? Would you buy that £1,000 Super Priority? If you have already submitted, you are welcome to tell us how long you actually waited - real data is much more useful than the official "target time".

If you find it useful, collect this article . When you are about to submit it, come back and check these numbers again.

[Data source] GOV.UK "Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 April 2026"; "The Immigration, Nationality and Passports (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2026" (SI 2026/311); Home Office "Immigration Health Surcharge" policy guidance.