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

Yes, according to the fee table verified as of September 20, 2026, the standard application fee for permanent residency is £3,226 per person, and no healthcare surcharge is required for applying for permanent residency 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. Rush service, examination, and appointment services are charged 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 "indefinite stay" in Chinese, usually referred to as permanent residency. When assessing the cost, 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, 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 contains "Settlement" may easily enter 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 are all eligible and apply for this chargeable settlement, the base government fee is £3,226 × 3 = £9,678. The child does not automatically qualify for a child discount in this program, nor can they be exempted from their own fee just because their parents have paid. When making a family budget, list who applies for settlement this time by name, and check eligibility separately; family members who need to renew their visa temporarily should be placed in the renewal budget, applying their own fees and healthcare surcharge rules. After separating them, it becomes clear which money must be paid this time, and which belongs 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 of the column with the old amount still reads "Current fee", while £3,226 is 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 document title and effective date can it be seen that it represents the price before the adjustment in this fee 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 back on the corresponding application page, and don't use a single English word on the page to replace the complete date judgment.

Which entries need to be added to the general ledger?

Combine the basic official fees and optional expedited service, the sub-total per person is as follows. The table only calculates these two items, which is suitable for those preparing to pay to verify; whether each route provides the corresponding service is based on the optional items when applying.

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另收每次£50，未包括在£3,226内。官方报名页列明，已经通过或符合豁免条件的人无需再考；需要参加的人把这笔列进考前预算。

Biological information collection should be read by project: the official application page for work permit 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 fee depends on the type of location and additional services, with possible additional charges for non-official hours, weekends, or emergency appointments. Seeing the amount on the appointment page, confirm the specific service purchased, and list this item separately. Documents can be uploaded by yourself, or choose on-site scanning; whether to pay for 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, do not set a unified total price without verification for everyone.

IHS, you can fill in £0 for the permanent residency application. However, the official guidance retains a boundary: if applying for permanent residency but instead obtaining a limited-time residence permit, and there are no other IHS exemptions, you must 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 clearly listed as a non-refundable situation. Just because one has transitioned to permanent residency does not mean that the medical surcharge for the remaining period of the original visa can be refunded. If there are other independent reasons for refunds, such as duplicate payments, they should be judged according to those rules; this is a different reason 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 just 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 be individually qualified. 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 are entrusting 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 discrepancy between the total payment and the budget, it will be possible to directly locate the specific item.

[Data Source] Home Office Immigration and Nationality Fee Schedule, Expedited Service Information, and IHS Payment and Refund Instructions. This document 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 the expenses such as examination, appointment, and translation separately; highlight the paid items and calculate the total amount due, and keep the corresponding receipts.
3. Double-check the official rates before submission, ensure full funds are available, and exclude unconfirmed IHS refunds.

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