Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the difference in fees in visa applications applying to some EEA and EU member state nationals; and what steps the Government is taking to improve equal treatment of all EEA/EU nationals under the current visa regime.

The UK has long standing arrangements in its legislation for the nationals of countries which have ratified the 1961 Council of Europe’s Social Charter (CESC) to qualify for a fee reduction for visa applications to come to work in the UK.

Nationals of the 26 countries which have signed and ratified the CESC are eligible for a reduction of £55 to their application fee if they are applying for a visa under a work route. Where the applicant is required to have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from their employer, the CoS can be issued free of charge.

Details of the routes which qualify for a reduced fee are published on at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fee-arrangements-for-cesc-nationals/fee-arrangements-for-cesc-nationals.

The fee reduction of £55 only applies to the main applicant, it does not apply to dependants.