[caption id="attachment_157" align="alignleft" width="2048"] UK Visa. Photo: Collected[/caption] Visa fees and health surcharges for UK visas are increasing by 20 percent. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “This step is to provide more money to increase the salary and allowances of the public sector of Britain. Visa and surcharge fees will be increased by more than a million pounds to meet the rising demands for public sector pay rises in the face of rising inflation and commodity prices”. In March 2015, when the health surcharge fee started in Britain, the fee was 200 pounds per person. After that, this fee was increased to 400 pounds in December 2018. In December 2020, it was further increased to 624 pounds for adults and 470 pounds for students and children. Fees for work visas in Britain will be increased by 15 percent, and fees for other visas will be increased by 20 percent,said in this week’s official announcement . However, the government has not clarified anything about when exactly the increased visa fee rate will be effective. But the NHS Health Surcharge will now rise to £1,035 for adult applicants and £776 for students and children. Commenting on the increased fees, Barrister Shubhagat Dey of Lexpert Solicitors in London told the Bangla Tribune on Saturday morning that, “the new visa and health surcharge fees will naturally increase the costs of the UK visa aspirants. Recently, the US visa fee for Bangladeshis has also been increased.”