Tier 2 dependent visa excessive IHS fee

Hi all

I am filling online applications for my wife and son, for which I am asked to pay 600GBP for each dependent as IHS surcharge while my job offer is only for 1 year. The calculated fee is three times more than the fee required for 1 year. I looked all over the board for potential solutions but I could not find a working one. That is why I am posting my problem here to hopefully find a solution.

I study in South Korea and live with my wife and son here for the last seven years. We are all from Iran. I am offered a post-doc job in UK for one year, starting from 2018.01.01 till 2018.12.31. I received a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from the university in mid-November. Then through the visa4uk website, I started filling the online application for myself (Apply For Myself). After "Application Completed", I completed "Declaration Signed" and "BRP Collection Location". Next, I booked an appointment to visit VFS Visa Application Center. Then I was redirected to the immigration health surcharge (IHS) payment service. In there, I was asked to pay 274USD=200GBP for myself which makes sense because my job offer is only for 1 year. Then I paid the application fee (587GBP=804USD) and printed the application. I visited the VFS Visa Application Center on Nov 24 and submitted all the documents and had my biometrics taken.

Then I started creating an online application for my wife (Apply For Someone Else). In the “Select Visa Type” my answers were as follows:
Reason for visit: “Work”
Visa Type: “Tier 2 (General) visa”
Visa Sub Type: “General Partner – up to 3 years”

Then I filled the required fields with her information in the following tabs:
“Passport and Travel Information”
“Personal Details and Travel History”
“Family Details”
“Medical Treatment”
“Maintenance”

Then in the “Main Applicant” tab, I entered my details and my answers to the last questions were as follows:
Are you accompanying the main applicant or joining them later? “Yes I will accompany him.”
How are you related to the main applicant? “Spouse”
Does the main applicant have a Certificate of Sponsorship or Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies number? “Yes”
Please enter the CoS/CAS number: “C2xxxxxxxxx”
Is the main applicant living in the UK? “No”
What is the address where the main applicant works or studies? “I filled the required fields properly.”
What is the start date of the job or course? “1 Jan 2018”
What is the end date of the job or course? “31 Dec 2018”

After confirming the application, for IHS payment I was asked to pay 822USD=600GBP for my wife. It is not correct given that my job offer is only for one year and also I paid 274USD=200GBP for myself. The IHS calculation is clearly for 3 years not for 1 year and I am not sure based on what information this excessive amount is calculated. I obviously mentioned that the main applicant (I mean myself) will be working in the UK for only one year from 1 Jan 2018 to 31 Dec 2018.

I have read that the excessive amount will be refunded later but I do not want to pay 4x200GBP=4x274USD=1096USD extra first (for both my wife and son) and then wait to hopefully get refunded many days later.

I looked for similar cases on the board but I could not find a clear solution for this Tier 2 dependent visa problem. Hopefully, somebody can provide a working solution for this problem.

Many thanks in advance.

That is strange, I also applied for postdoc position for 18 months and I was asked to pay £300 as IHS charges. Are you sure your start and end dates are accurate.

I admit I am the main applicant and I have not applied for dependents, but the IHS charge should be £200. Maybe call the UKVI and ask for clarification https://contactnumbers.buzz/ukvi/

@farazk86:
I double checked the start and end dates I provided in the Main Applicant tab, they are 1 Jan 2018 and 31 Dec 2018, respectively. Are there any other fields in other tabs to be double checked? I cannot think of any.

IS the COS for 3 years?

Third party weblink removed by moderator

Seems strange that you have had to pay only 200GBP

But- i have a CoS for 5 years(an error by the sponsor) and job for 3 years. I applied for a 3 year visa. I have been asked to pay 5 years worth of CoS which I have done. Am waiting for my passport to come as a decision has been made. My guess was best to pay and ask questions later as it will just delay visa process

aujayeb1 wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 26, 2017 6:12 am

IS the COS for 3 years?

Third party weblink removed by moderator

Seems strange that you have had to pay only 200GBP

But- i have a CoS for 5 years(an error by the sponsor) and job for 3 years. I applied for a 3 year visa. I have been asked to pay 5 years worth of CoS which I have done. Am waiting for my passport to come as a decision has been made. My guess was best to pay and ask questions later as it will just delay visa process

My CoS is issued only for 1 year from 1 Jan 2018 to 31 Dec 2018. So it made sense for my case to pay only 200GBP as IHS surcharge. But I am not sure why for my dependent the calculation goes up to 600GBP given I enter same start and end date in the Main Application tab.

Dont know then

The exact same thing happened with me, I filled out the form for my dependents (wife and child) and the IHS was 822 for each. My contract is 1 year so it was excessive fees. From what I read from previous blogs is that once the decision regarding visa is made the excess money is refunded immediately. Hope it happens soon

rtrtrt1234567 wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 27, 2017 6:38 am

The exact same thing happened with me, I filled out the form for my dependents (wife and child) and the IHS was 822 for each. My contract is 1 year so it was excessive fees. From what I read from previous blogs is that once the decision regarding visa is made the excess money is refunded immediately. Hope it happens soon

So you suggest I do the same thing, pay the excessive fee and wait to get the refund after issuing visas? That was my last resort if I could not find a proper solution for my problem. Anyway, I intend to proceed my wife's and my son's application after receiving my own visa. I would appreciate if you update me with you progress. Thanks.

newleon wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 28, 2017 1:44 pm

rtrtrt1234567 wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 27, 2017 6:38 am

The exact same thing happened with me, I filled out the form for my dependents (wife and child) and the IHS was 822 for each. My contract is 1 year so it was excessive fees. From what I read from previous blogs is that once the decision regarding visa is made the excess money is refunded immediately. Hope it happens soon

So you suggest I do the same thing, pay the excessive fee and wait to get the refund after issuing visas? That was my last resort if I could not find a proper solution for my problem. Anyway, I intend to proceed my wife's and my son's application after receiving my own visa. I would appreciate if you update me with you progress. Thanks.

Sorry I just saw your reply,
Yes go ahead with the payment. You will get the refund within 90 days, thats what they say on their website

Hello, I have the same problem. I paid my IHS ( I am tier 2 dependant) and the cost is about 846 USD.
Did any of the applicants receive a refund of the money?

rtrtrt1234567 wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 27, 2017 6:38 am

The exact same thing happened with me, I filled out the form for my dependents (wife and child) and the IHS was 822 for each. My contract is 1 year so it was excessive fees. From what I read from previous blogs is that once the decision regarding visa is made the excess money is refunded immediately. Hope it happens soon

Hello I have the same problem.
Did you have a solution? They refunded the money?

Kind regards.

Hi guys, I also have the same problem of excessive IHS fee for tier 2 dependent visa fee. Did some of you get refund ?

Please let me know.

Thanks in advance