UK Visa Renewal Cost 2026: Extension Fees, IHS Top-Up, Switching

Last reviewed: 31 May 2026

How renewals differ from initial applications

Renewing a UK visa is not a simple administrative top-up. The Home Office treats an extension as a fresh application against the current Immigration Rules, which means a re-eligibility check, fresh evidence of salary or relationship, and a fresh fee event. The headline difference from an initial application is that a renewal is almost always made from inside the UK, which attracts the in-country fee premium of roughly £100 to £200 per person across most routes. The UK visa fee calculator in this hub models renewal scenarios alongside initial applications and toggles the inside-UK premium automatically. Renewal applicants also pay the full Immigration Health Surcharge for the new leave period because the existing IHS does not roll forward, and biometric residence enrolment is required again unless the applicant uses the UK Immigration: ID Check app and a digital eVisa profile, in which case the £19.20 biometric fee is waived.

A second structural difference is the priority window. Renewal applications can be submitted up to 28 days before current leave expires without losing the unspent days, and on Skilled Worker and Tier 2 routes the application can be made on the very last day of leave without breaching the Immigration Rules, provided the new application is submitted before midnight. Late renewals trigger an overstaying record and almost always lead to refusal, although the Home Office accepts certain exceptional reasons within 14 days under paragraph 39E of the Rules.

Extension fee schedule by route (2026 rates)

The April 2025 fee instrument set the following in-country extension fees, applicable through to the next scheduled review. Each line is a fee per person on the application:

• Skilled Worker extension, up to 3 years (inside UK, standard occupation): £827
• Skilled Worker extension, more than 3 years (inside UK, standard occupation): £1,500
• Health and Care Worker extension, up to 3 years (inside UK): £304
• Health and Care Worker extension, more than 3 years (inside UK): £590
• Student visa extension (inside UK): £580
• Graduate visa: no extension permitted (single grant, then switch route)
• Spouse or partner extension (inside UK, 2.5 years further leave): £1,048
• Spouse or partner extension (inside UK, transition to settlement readiness): £1,048
• Parent of a child extension (inside UK): £1,048
• Global Talent extension: £766 (combined, varies by track)
• Innovator Founder extension: £1,486
• UK Ancestry extension: £1,048
• Standard Visitor: no extension above the 6-month grant in normal circumstances

Each fee is matched by the same IHS top-up for the new leave period. A Spouse visa extension of 2.5 years for one adult costs £1,048 in application fees plus £2,587.50 in IHS (2.5 years x £1,035), totalling £3,635.50 before any priority service. The Spouse route is sometimes cited as the most expensive renewal once the family extension is added because dependant children are charged the under-18 IHS rate of £776 per year on the same 2.5-year leave grant.

IHS top-up calculation (existing IHS does not roll forward)

The Immigration Health Surcharge is calculated on the length of leave being granted, not the calendar period from application to settlement. When a Skilled Worker holder extends from a three-year grant into a further three-year grant, the IHS is charged again for the new three years at £1,035 per year for adults and £776 per year for under-18 dependants. The original £3,105 paid for the first three years is not credited against the second three years, and is not refundable unless the applicant left the UK before the original leave period ended.

This becomes a meaningful planning consideration for families with two or more children on a five-year settlement pathway. A Skilled Worker family of four (two adults, two children under 18) renewing into a second three-year grant pays IHS of (£1,035 x 3 x 2) + (£776 x 3 x 2) = £6,210 + £4,656 = £10,866 in IHS alone on the renewal, on top of the four Home Office application fees of £827 each. The renewal total is £10,866 + £3,308 = £14,174 before priority service or biometric enrolment.

Applicants can elect a longer single grant where the route permits it, paying a higher single application fee but the same per-year IHS rate. The Home Office does not discount the IHS for longer grants. A five-year Skilled Worker grant at the outside-UK rate of £1,420 saves the cost of one renewal application fee compared with two three-year grants but does not save any IHS.

Switching route mid-leave: cost implications

Switching from one visa route to another while still inside an existing leave period is treated as a fresh application at the new route's in-country fee, and triggers a full IHS payment for the new leave period. The remaining IHS on the original route is refundable on a pro-rated basis from the date the new leave begins, calculated in whole months. A Student visa holder switching to Skilled Worker in the middle of a three-year student grant typically pays the Skilled Worker in-country fee of £827, the full Skilled Worker IHS for the new three-year period, and receives a refund of the unused Student IHS once the new leave is granted.

Two switching scenarios trigger lower net costs than a fresh application. The first is switching within the same broad sponsor (for example, a Skilled Worker changing employer using a fresh Certificate of Sponsorship) where the leave period is extended only marginally: in some cases this falls under a change of employment notification rather than a full extension. The second is switching from Graduate to Skilled Worker, where the Graduate IHS refund typically covers a meaningful portion of the new Skilled Worker IHS bill. Switching from any work route to the Spouse route, by contrast, almost always increases total cost because the Spouse application fee of £1,048 is higher than most work-route in-country extension fees.

Worked example: Skilled Worker 3-year extension

The following worked example uses a single Skilled Worker holder on a standard occupation, extending an existing visa from inside the UK for a further three years. No priority service is selected and the applicant uses the UK Immigration: ID Check app so the biometric enrolment fee is waived.

• Home Office application fee (inside UK, 3 years, standard): £827
• Immigration Health Surcharge (3 years x £1,035): £3,105
• Biometric enrolment: £0 (waived via ID Check app)
• English language test: £0 (passed at initial application, valid for life)
• Tuberculosis test: £0 (not required for in-country applications)

Total upfront cost: £3,932. If the applicant elects priority service (five working days) the bill rises to £4,432. Adding a dependant spouse on the same extension takes the total to £3,932 + £827 + £3,105 = £7,864 before any priority service. Adding two children under 18 brings the family total to £7,864 + (£827 x 2) + (£776 x 3 x 2) = £7,864 + £1,654 + £4,656 = £14,174. The calculator in this hub models the same scenario interactively and adjusts for the longer 5-year grant variant.

Refunds and what is recoverable on early exit

The Home Office application fee on a renewal is not refunded if the application is refused. It is refunded only if the application is withdrawn before processing begins, which in practice is a window of a few days after submission. The IHS is treated more generously: the full IHS amount is refunded if the renewal is refused, and a pro-rated amount is refunded if the holder leaves the UK before the granted leave period ends. The refund is calculated in whole months and credited to the original payment card within 6 to 12 weeks of the gov.uk refund request.

Biometric enrolment, priority service and super priority service fees are not refundable once the appointment has taken place or the priority decision has been issued. The English language test and tuberculosis test fees are paid to third-party providers and are governed by those providers' refund policies, not by the Home Office. Administrative review of a renewal refusal is available in some categories for a flat fee of £80, which is refunded if the review succeeds.

Frequently asked questions

Is a UK visa renewal cheaper than an initial application?

Generally yes, but the difference is smaller than applicants expect. The Home Office application fee on most in-country extensions is comparable to the outside-UK initial application fee, with a premium of roughly £100 to £200 per person on the in-country variant. The big saving on a renewal compared with an initial application is on third-party costs: English language testing is not repeated, tuberculosis testing is not required, and biometric enrolment is often waived through the ID Check app. The IHS, however, is charged at the same per-year rate as the initial application.

Does the existing IHS roll forward when a visa is extended?

No. The Immigration Health Surcharge is calculated on the length of leave being granted on each application, and the IHS paid on the previous grant does not credit against the new grant. The only way to recover IHS from a previous grant is to leave the UK before the original leave period ends, which triggers a pro-rated refund of the unused months. Extending the visa instead of leaving means the original IHS is fully consumed by the original leave period.

Can the priority service be used for visa renewals?

Yes. Both the five-working-day priority service (£500 per applicant) and the next-working-day super priority service (£1,000 per applicant) are available on most in-country extension applications, including Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Student and Spouse renewals. Availability depends on the visa application centre and the specific route, and some categories (such as complex Spouse cases with documentary issues) may have super priority withdrawn by the caseworker. The fee is per person, not per family.

What is the latest someone can submit a renewal before leave expires?

Renewals can be submitted at any point up to and including the last day of current leave, provided the application is submitted online before midnight UK time on the expiry date. Submitting on the last day is permitted but risky because any technical issue with the online service can push submission into overstayer territory. The Home Office recommends submitting at least 28 days before expiry, and paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules allows for limited late submissions within 14 days where the delay is for exceptional reasons such as serious illness or postal disruption to evidence.

Can a renewal be refused for the same reasons as an initial application?

Yes, and renewals are refused on broadly the same grounds as initial applications: failure to meet the eligibility criteria for the route (salary threshold for Skilled Worker, relationship and financial requirement for Spouse, course continuation for Student), documentary issues, or general grounds for refusal such as deception or criminality. The renewal applicant is, however, usually in a stronger evidential position than a first-time applicant because the previous grant established prior eligibility. Administrative review is available in most refusal categories.

Sources

• Skilled Worker visa: extend your visa (gov.uk)
• UK Visas and Immigration fee schedule (gov.uk)
• Immigration Health Surcharge rates and exemptions (gov.uk)
• IHS refund process (gov.uk)
• Spouse or partner visa extension (gov.uk)
• Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)