UK Work Visa Cost from India: Total Fees in Rupees for 2026

The cost shock hits most Indian applicants at the payment screen. You've secured your Certificate of Sponsorship, lined up your documents — and then you see the total. For a professional moving solo, the upfront payment to the UK government alone runs over £4,000. For a family of four, it can exceed £14,000. Understanding every component before you apply is not optional — it directly affects how much cash you need to have ready.

The Three Core Cost Components

Every UK Skilled Worker visa application from India involves three mandatory payments made before you even sit at the VFS counter: the visa application fee, the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), and the VFS service charge. These are paid online during the GOV.UK application, and none of them are refundable if your application is refused.

1. Visa Application Fee

The main visa fee for a Skilled Worker visa (outside the UK) depends on your visa duration:

Health and Care Worker visa applicants pay a reduced fee: £284 for up to 3 years, £551 for over 3 years. Indian doctors and nurses sponsored by the NHS or registered UK healthcare providers should always check whether their SOC code qualifies for this route — the savings are significant.

2. Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)

The IHS is what catches most Indian applicants off-guard. It is charged per person, per year, upfront. As of 2026, the standard rate is £1,035 per adult per year and £776 per child per year.

This means a 5-year Skilled Worker visa for a single professional costs £5,175 in IHS alone — approximately ₹5.5 lakh at current exchange rates. For a couple, that is £10,350. For a family of two adults and two children on a 5-year visa, the IHS bill reaches £18,110.

There is a critical subtlety: the IHS is charged for every year or part of a year covered by the visa. A visa of "3 years and 1 day" triggers four full years of IHS payments, not three.

Health and Care Worker visa holders and their dependants are fully exempt from the IHS. This exemption is one of the largest financial advantages of the healthcare route — a family of four saves nearly £18,000 over five years compared to the standard Skilled Worker route.

3. VFS Service Charges

VFS Global India charges a mandatory service fee at biometrics. The base service charge is approximately ₹1,476 per person. Additional services — some genuinely useful, some not — include:

Total Cost by Household Size (2026)

The table below shows approximate all-in UK government costs for a 5-year Skilled Worker visa. Amounts are converted at approximately ₹107 per GBP.

Note: Dependant children on a student visa pay the reduced IHS rate of £776 per year.

India-Specific Additional Costs

Beyond the core UK government fees, Indian applicants face several additional expenses that no government webpage itemises in one place.

TB Test: Mandatory for all visa applications longer than six months. Costs range from ₹1,800 in smaller cities to ₹3,000 in Delhi or Mumbai at approved IOM clinics. Children under 11 are examined but do not require the chest X-ray.

Police Clearance Certificate (PCC): Required if you have lived outside India for 12 months or more in the past ten years. The PCC from the Passport Seva system typically costs ₹500 in government fees, but factor in travel time to a Passport Seva Kendra.

Ecctis / UK ENIC Statement of Comparability: If you want to use your Indian degree to prove English language proficiency rather than take an IELTS, you need this document. Cost: approximately £210 for a standard statement, with additional fees for primary source verification.

IELTS (if required): The UKVI-accepted IELTS test costs approximately ₹17,000 per attempt.

Translation and Notarisation: Any documents not in English — birth certificates for dependants, marriage certificates, PCC — need certified translation. Budget ₹500–₹2,000 per document depending on the provider.

What Is Not Included in These Figures

The costs above cover only the UK government-mandated and VFS service costs. They do not include:

• Flights and temporary accommodation in the UK while you find a flat
• UK bank account setup costs (though digital banks like Monzo are free to open)
• National Insurance application (free, but takes 2–3 weeks after arrival)
• Potential Ecctis verification delays if your university is slow to respond

How to Prepare Your Budget

The safest approach is to calculate your total liability before you submit the online application. The official IHS calculator at the GOV.UK website lets you input your visa duration and household composition to get the exact IHS amount. Run this before you start the form so you have the cash ready — the payment gateway requires full payment in one session.

For the visa fee itself, the Home Office uses fixed fee bands regardless of exchange rate fluctuations. If you are paying in INR via VFS, the conversion applies at the point of payment. It is worth checking the prevailing rate in the week you plan to apply, as a ₹2–3 per pound swing on a £6,000 total payment is a meaningful difference.

The India → UK Skilled Worker Guide at immigrationstartguide.com/from-india/uk-skilled-worker/ includes a complete cost worksheet with INR conversions, broken down by household type and visa duration — built specifically so Indian applicants can present the full number to their families before committing to the process.

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