UK, Australia set to raise visa fees for Indians by up to 13% from...

Starting April 1, 2025, visa charges and tuition fees for international applicants will rise in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the European Union. The increases will affect short-term visitor visas, work sponsorships, and university tuition fees, making travel, study, and work more expensive for Indians planning to go abroad.

UK Visa Fee Changes from April 2025

The UK government has revised visa and immigration fees across multiple categories:

A six-month standard visitor visa will now cost Pound 127 (about Rs 14,000), up from Pound 115 (about Rs 12,700).

Long-term visit visas are also getting costlier:

Two-year visa: Pound 475 (previously Pound 432)

Five-year visa: Pound 848 (previously Pound 771)

Ten-year visa: Pound 1,059 (previously Pound 963)

For students:

Student visa fees will increase from Pound 490 to Pound 524. The same fee applies to child student visas.

Short-term study visas (for English language courses of 6-11 months) will rise from Pound 200 to Pound 214.

For workers:

Skilled Worker visa (up to three years) will now cost Pound 769, up from Pound 719.

Innovator Founder visa will increase from Pound 1,191 to Pound 1,274.

For employers:

Certificate of Sponsorship will now cost Pound 525, more than double the current fee of Pound 239.

Sponsor licence fees will rise to Pound 1,579 for large companies and Pound 574 for small businesses and charities.

A new Pound 16 Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) fee is also being introduced for visa-exempt travellers, replacing the current £10 charge.

UK University Tuition Fees Rising
For the first time since 2017, UK domestic university fees will rise with inflation.

The current annual cap of Pound 9,250 will gradually increase to Pound 10,500 over five years.

This will impact students starting in the 2025–26 academic year.

Australia’s Tuition Fee Hike for International Students
Several Australian universities will increase international tuition fees from 2025. Some courses will see over a 7% increase:

University of Melbourne:

Engineering: AUD 56,480 (about Rs 30.36 lakh) per year.

Clinical medicine: AUD 112,832 (about Rs 60.66 lakh) per year.

University of New South Wales (UNSW):

Most courses will cost AUD 58,560 per year.

UNSW stated that “international students contribute a major portion of revenue, and cost pressures have made adjustments necessary.”

EU’s New Travel Entry System from Mid-2025
The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will be introduced for visitors from visa-exempt countries:

ETIAS fee: Euro 7, valid for three years.

It will apply to Schengen countries like France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

Indians will still need a Schengen visa to visit EU countries.

Additionally, the EU will introduce the Entry/Exit System (EES), replacing manual passport stamps with automated biometric checks, including facial scans and fingerprints. The system aims to speed up border processing while recording all entries and exits.

US Visa Fees Already Increased in 2024
In 2024, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revised its fee structure.

Most employment-based visas, including H-1B, saw fee increases.

Form I-129 (for work visas) now costs up to USD 780, depending on the visa type and company size.

These changes across multiple countries will make it more expensive for international students, workers, and travellers to move abroad.