£15,000 Super Premium Visa Processing Service Launched

The Super Premium Visa Processing Service

The new service will see UK Border Agency workers visit the applicant (at a convenient location chosen by the customer) in order to take biometric information (fingerprints and a full face digital photograph) and process a Tier 2 (Work Permit), Tier 4 (Student), FLR(M), FLR(BID) or FLR(BUS) visa application. All of the visa categories require the applicant to gain an identity card for foreign nationals (ICFN) as part of their application to extend their stay.

Applicants using the service benefit from:

• Biometric enrolment at a location of their choosing (including a home or business premises)
• Biometric enrolment at a time of their choosing (subject to restrictions)
• A decision on an application within 24 hours of the visit (so long as all requirements are met)

Initially the service will be available to customers located in London and the south of England. At a later date it will be extended to cover all of the UK.

Visa Processing Fee

The new Super Premium Visa Processing Service will cost customers £15,000 per application (this fee includes the costs relating to any dependents).

In the UKBA’s recent Ministerial Statement Announcing Proposed Fees for the year 2010 / 2011  it can be seen that the cost of operating a Mobile Biometrics and Case Working service will be just £1,982, which means the UKBA stands to make £13,018 per application. If the pilot scheme is successful and 50 applications are made during the 2010/2011 trial year total profit will be £650,000.

At the moment the majority of visa application fees are set significantly above the cost of processing an application, in order to generate revenues which will be used to improve the UK Immigration System as a whole (e.g. the new Points Based Immigration Systems (Tier 1, Tier 2), Identity Cards for foreign nationals, investment in new IT systems etc) and reduce the cost to the taxpayer (the UK Border Agency has an annual budget of £2 billion with the majority of funding coming from taxation). The UKBA believes that those benefiting most from the immigration system (i.e. migrants and employers) should contribute most to maintain the system.

Commonwealth Contractors

Commonwealth Contractors is a collection of highly skilled professionals from the Commonwealth and beyond. We partner with OISC Registered Immigration Partners capable of professionally representing Tier 1 Visa Applications / Extensions and Tier 2 Licensed Consultancy & Associated Trust Partners who may be prepared, where required, to sponsor a Medical, Information Technology or Engineering Professional on a Tier 2 Visa (formerly UK Work Permit).

To find out more call Commonwealth Contractors now on 0330 390 9021 or Submit your details now and we will get right back to you.. Please be prepared to send a copy of a recent CV so that we can pass to interested partners.