Is the permanent residency application fee £3,226? Item-by-item verification of the 2026 latest fees

Yes, according to the fee table verified as of September 20, 2026, the standard settlement application fee for each person is £3,226, and no health surcharge is required for applying for settlement itself.

This money corresponds to the application of the main applicant or family members individually. When calculating the total for the family, it should be multiplied by the number of people. Additional charges for expedited service, exams, and appointments will be calculated separately. I think when preparing the funds for permanent residency, you should prepare the full amount due, and you shouldn't deduct the expected refund from the old visa IHS in advance. Below is a breakdown of the official fee schedule, itemizing the chargeable items, unit prices, and additional expenses.

How to read the line "ILR Fee Table"

Home Office "Fee Schedule for Immigration and Nationality as of April 8, 2026", Section 9 lists this fee item:

Indefinite leave to remain - main applicant and dependants: £3,226

"Indefinite leave to remain" limits the types of applications, which is called "indefinite stay" in Chinese, usually referred to as permanent residency. When valuing, it is necessary to first confirm that the application being submitted is indeed a permanent residency application; those who still need to extend their current visa should calculate separately according to the corresponding renewal program. This table lists applications from abroad, domestic renewals, permanent residency, and nationality matters. Some item names also contain the word "settlement", but correspond to different procedures. When actually operating, you should compare your application page with the fee table side by side, check the application location and full name of the program, and then take the amount; just copying the price based on the search result that "Settlement" appears may easily fill the expenses of another type of application into the budget.

"main applicant and dependants" covers the main applicant and dependent family members. The official application page for work permit and permanent residency clearly states: eligible partners and children can be listed on the same form, but each applicant must pay £3,226.

Take a pure fee example: two adults and one child all meet the criteria and apply for this chargeable settlement. The base government fee is £3,226 × 3 = £9,678. There is no automatic child discount for the child in this program, nor can the child be exempted from paying their own fee just because the parents have paid. When making a family budget, first list who applies for settlement this time by name, then check eligibility separately. Family members who still need to renew their visas should be placed in the renewal budget, applying their own fees and health surcharge rules. After separating them, it will be clear which fees must be paid this time and which belong to another procedure. This example does not include applications that are eligible for other free arrangements or approved fee reductions.

£3,226 will take effect from April 8, 2026. Previously, the same project was £3,029, an increase of £197 per person. This change has already taken effect and the old amount cannot be added to the pending payment list anymore.

There is a detail in the fee table that is easy to misread: as of the date this text was verified, the English header for the column containing the old amount still says "Current fee," while £3,226 is listed in the "Fee from 8 April 2026" column. Looking at the table alone, the former seems to indicate "pay this amount now"; only by combining the file title and effective date can one see that it represents the price before the adjustment in this price adjustment comparison table. When verifying the price, please keep the header, effective date, and item name together. If the current explanation still states £3,029, first confirm which date's rate it refers to, then cross-check with the corresponding application page, and don't use a single English word on the page to replace a complete date-based judgment.

What few more entries need to be added to the general ledger?

The basic official fees and optional expedited service are combined, with the individual subtotal as follows. The table only calculates these two items, suitable for those preparing to pay to verify; whether each route provides the corresponding service is based on the optional items selected during the application.

这里的Priority是优先服务，Super Priority是超级优先服务，两者都是在基础官费上加收。Home Office加急说明页对家庭申请还有一句明确要求：一起申请的每位家属都要支付相应加急费，全家同时收到决定。因此，前面的三人家庭若符合所选服务条件并一起加急，优先档要另备£1,500，超级优先档另备£3,000，合计分别为£11,178与£12,678。不要把单人的加急金额只加一次。加急并非每条路线都有同样选项，预算可先留余量，实际付款按本次可选服务逐人核实。

Life in the UK Test An additional £50 per person, not included in the £3,226. The official registration page states that those who have already passed or met the exemption criteria do not need to take the exam again; those who need to take it should include this amount in their pre-exam budget.

Biological information collection should also be read by project: the official application page for work permits and permanent residency clearly states that collecting fingerprints and photos does not charge extra; the UKVCAS service description page also states that the actual service point fees depend on the type of location and additional services, with non-office hours, weekends, or emergency appointments possibly incurring additional charges. If you see a price on the appointment page, verify the specific service purchased and list this item separately. Documents can be uploaded by yourself, or you can choose on-site scanning. Whether you need paid assistance depends on the service details. Exams or academic evaluations required for English certification, document translation, and voluntary legal services should also be quoted item by item, and do not apply a uniform total price that has not been verified to everyone.

IHS, you can fill in £0 for the permanent residency application. However, the official instructions retain a boundary: if applying for permanent residency but obtaining a limited-time stay instead, and there are no other IHS exemptions, you need to pay as required before obtaining the permit.

Another specific statement needs to be corrected: "Once permanent residency is obtained, the remaining time of the original visa will be refunded." On Home Office's IHS refund page, applying for permanent residency is explicitly listed as a non-refundable situation. It cannot be solely based on the transition to permanent residency that a refund of the remaining period's medical surcharge is requested. If there are other independent reasons for refund, such as duplicate payments, they should be judged according to those rules; it is a different matter from requesting a refund due to obtaining permanent residency. The actual impact on the budget is direct: the money already paid will not automatically become available balance because of this exemption, and the application account still needs to prepare the full amount due this time.

My judgment is that a budget that can be paid should list the full amount per person, and separate the official fees and service fees; any unconfirmed refund should not be used to fill the funding gap for this application.

Before making the payment, the refund conditions should also be included in the risk budget. Home Office "Immigration and Nationality Refund Policy" states that if the application is rejected due to not meeting the route requirements, the application fee will not be refunded. The fees have been paid correctly, but the residence period, absence record, and route documents still need to meet the requirements individually. Please remove the completed exams from the pending payment total, and after obtaining a clear quotation for the unselected appointment services, add them back. If you entrust someone else to assist with the submission, please request a detailed breakdown by applicant and fee item, and keep the official payment receipts and service invoices separately; when there is a difference between the total payment and the budget, you can directly locate the specific item.

[Data Source] Home Office Immigration and Nationality Fee Schedule, Expedited Service Information, and IHS Payment and Refund Policy. This article is for reference only; please consult a licensed attorney for specific issues.

1. List the applicants by name, verify the official fee of £3,226 for each and their eligibility for exemption.
2. Open the optional services for this application, check the urgent levels per person, and list expenses such as exams, appointments, and translations separately; separate the paid items from the total amount due, and save the corresponding vouchers.
3. Double-check the official rates before submission, ensure full funds are available, and exclude unconfirmed IHS refunds.

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