Compare visitor, family and Ancestry cost examples
The examples below cover different purposes of travel and different charging structures. A visitor application and a family move should not be compared as if they buy the same permission.
How should you read the amounts?
The fee panels use the site’s shared fee data. Rand estimates depend on the applied exchange rate and the listed components; they are not a promise of the rate a bank will settle at. Read the breakdown and its update information rather than adding two totals that include the same charge.
What should your own estimate include?
Consider each person applying, the route, permission period and any optional services. A headline visa fee may not be the whole budget. Discuss the relevant example with Move Up so that the proposed scope and separate charges are clear before payment.
This hypothetical household has a British adult, a South African spouse and one child. The child’s British citizenship and travel documents are already confirmed. Only the spouse applies for initial 33-month partner permission from outside the UK. This example assumes no fee waiver, exemption or priority service.
What might you pay at each stage?
Government charges for one initial adult partner application
Government charge
Amount
Payment stage
Partner visa application
£2,064
During the online application
Adult immigration health surcharge
£3,105
Paid first during the online application
Government subtotal
£5,169
Initial partner application only
For 33 months, the adult health surcharge is charged for three years: 3 × £1,035 = £3,105. At a purely illustrative £1 = R22, the government subtotal is R113,718. This is not a current exchange rate or checkout quote.
Add the wider costs separately
Costs outside the government subtotal
Cost category
Amount
Planning stage
Professional help for the agreed scope
Quote needed
Confirm the written scope before paid work begins
Tests and documents; appointment services
Quote needed
Preparation and required appointments
Flights, pets and shipping
Quote needed
Research early; confirm travel after the decision
Accommodation and living costs before the first UK payday
Quote needed
Before departure and during arrival
The government subtotal excludes these wider costs and future immigration stages. Existing fee panels below may already include government charges, professional fees or other components: do not add a panel total to this subtotal without checking the breakdown. Unknown costs need a quote; they are not zero.
For agreed full representation, the full Move Up case fee is payable upfront; no deposits or partial case-fee payments are offered. Government charges are normally handled separately at submission. Keep any savings relied on for the visa separately identified and seek advice before spending them.
