Visa applicants to bear ‘arbitrary’ charge for email queries

The fee changes come as private company Sitel UK takes over customer service enquiries for the government service.

The number of languages on offer will be reduced to 8 including English, and email queries will result in a £5.48 charge.

The UK government website states: “You will need to pay using a credit or debit card for contacting us by email.

“The charge includes the first email enquiry you send and any follow-up emails to and from the contact centre relating to the same enquiry.”

The changes have been criticised by immigration rights groups.

Chai Patel, legal and policy director at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), said: “People applying for British visas already pay very high charges and there seems to be no discernible reason for adding on this further arbitrary fee.

“Visa applicants who need to contact UK visa and immigration services should be able to do so without this barrier so that they can easily obtain information they need in order to make their application in a proper and timely manner.

“The more difficult people find it to make applications, the more likely they are to make mistakes and have their applications returned – only adding to work and costs for the Home Office, which is already critically overstretched and under-resourced.”