Backlog in Fee Waiver applications leaves families devastated

Families in the UK are grappling with anxiety and uncertainty as they await the processing of their visa fee waiver requests by the Home Office, a situation that has left them in an ongoing state of uncertainty, as reported by organisations aiding migrants.

The Home Office received an unprecedented 18,528 visa fee waiver requests in the first quarter of this year, yet nearly 33,000 applications are still pending, marking an all-time high for the department.

In stark contrast to the previous year, only 69 of these applications were approved in the same timeframe, a significant drop from the nearly 6,000 approvals in the first quarter of the prior year. Fee waivers are designed to assist those in the UK who cannot afford the visa costs. This is very important, as immigration application fees have increased astronomically in the last 6 months.

Extended processing durations, now ranging from eight weeks to eight months, are exacerbating stress for families, impacting their ability to work, secure housing, and receive benefits, even for those with established legal residency in the UK.

Nick Beales, leading the campaigns at the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (Ramfel), criticised the immigration system's inefficiency, highlighting the unjustifiable delays in determining whether individuals earning the minimum wage or receiving benefits can afford the visa fees, which can cost thousands of pounds per person.

Solicitor Sairah Javed from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants has reported increasing delays affecting her clients' ability to confirm their legal status in the UK. Javed highlighted the plight of vulnerable individuals living in poverty who are struggling to prove their right to work, secure housing, or travel for family emergencies, leading to significant mental health impacts.

Concurrently, visa fees have escalated, alongside a hike in the immigration health surcharge from £624 to £1,035 per applicant annually, granting migrants NHS access.

The Home Office spokesperson has stated their commitment to swift processing of fee waivers, which are contingent upon the applicants' financial inability to pay post-essential expenses. They further assured that individuals with existing UK residency rights would retain their status during the processing of their fee waiver and visa applications.

The Home Office clarified that revenue from visa fees is exclusively allocated to maintaining migration and border infrastructure.