Fee Waiver Applications:

Home Office applications can be extremely expensive as you need to pay two fees: the Home Office fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). If you do not have the money to pay the fees, you can apply to the Home Office for a ‘fee waiver’. This is to make sure that people who can’t afford the Home Office fees can apply for leave to remain depended on their human rights. 

Who can apply?

Only human rights applications can be granted fee waivers, if you cannot afford the application fee for leave to remain:

• As a parent or partner under the 10-year route.
• As a parent under the five-year route.
• As a partner under the five-year route if your partner doesn’t have to meet the minimum income threshold).
• On a discretionary basis (if you have been refused asylum or humanitarian protection).
• Based on Article 8 (family and private life) rights or other European Convention on Human Rights, ECHR. But the main reason must be based on your human rights.

If your grant of leave to remain is conditioned on a ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition, you can still file a fee waiver application. However, this fee waiver application cannot be used when applying for indefinite leave to remain or to register as British, only for limited leave to remain. 

Furthermore, a fee waiver application will not have any effect on your leave to remain application in a negative or positive way.

What you need and when to apply?

You will need to show that you do not have the money to pay for the fees through your bank accounts and payslips. Any holidays or non-essential purchases might have to be explained to the Home Office as to its necessity. 

Moreover, if you have leave to remain already, you must apply for a fee waiver 28 days before your leave to remain expires. Nevertheless, if you do not have leave to remain, you submit a fee waiver application first and then a leave to remain application within 10 working days of receiving a decision.

How to apply?

To apply for a fee waiver, you can use the online form including any dependants if you have any. You will also have to provide supporting documents within 10 working days of applying for the fee waiver.

For more information on fee waiver applications click here.

Why instruct NA Law for your claim?

Here at NA Law we will be able to guide you through the entire application process. Our specialist team based in London will then carefully help you plan the next steps. We will keep you informed throughout your time with us. We pride ourselves in putting our clients’ needs first as we understand the delicacy and sensitivity of what you may have experienced. Contact us today.