In recognition of the immensely valuable contribution that thousands of overseas personnel make to the UK while serving, the Government has announced that visa fees will be waived for those who have served in the UK Armed Forces for a minimum period of six years or been discharged due to an illness or injury attributable to their service.
The Defence Secretary and Home Secretary have jointly announced today the outcome of last year’s visa fees public consultation.
The fees will be waived for:
- Non-UK Service Personnel who have served for six years or more, or
- Have been medically discharged as a result of a service attributable illness or injury, or
- Are a non-UK veteran living in the UK who served for six or more years, or was discharged as a result of a service attributable illness or injury but has not regularised their immigration status.
The announcement can be found on the Gov.UK website: Visa fees scrapped for Non-UK Service Personnel - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government response to the public consultation is available here: Immigration Fees Public Consultation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The following three documents are available to download and read in full in the Financial & Legal and resource area: Resources
- Change to Settlement Fees for Non-UK Service Personnel Change to Settlement Fees for Non-UK Service Personnel
- Government response to Immigration Fees Public Consultation Government Response to Immigration Fees Public Consultation
- Change to Settlement Fees for Non-UK Service Personnel - Q&A Change to Settlement Fees for Non-UK Service Personnel - Q&A
The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP,Secretary of State for Defence.
The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Home Secretary.
