Fee waiver application solicitors | FLR, private life, family

If paying the Home Office application fee and the immigration health surcharge would leave you unable to meet your essential living needs, you can ask the Home Office to waive them. A fee waiver is decided before your main application is made, and a successful request means you apply for leave to remain without paying the fee or the surcharge. We prepare the request and the evidence, and the application that follows.

Call 0161 222 5860, message us on WhatsApp or send a free online assessment. We tell you at the first call whether a waiver is realistic on your figures.

Who can apply for a fee waiver

A fee waiver is available for applications where refusing it would breach your human rights, mainly:

Further leave to remain on family or private life grounds, including the partner and parent routes under Appendix FM (10-year route), the private life route, and children who have lived in the UK for seven years.
Leave outside the Immigration Rules on Article 8 grounds.
Extensions of leave already granted on those routes.
Entry clearance family applications where refusal of the fee would breach Article 8 (a separate out-of-country process).
Registration of a child as a British citizen, where the child cannot afford the fee (a separate citizenship waiver).

Work, study, visitor, settlement (ILR) and adult naturalisation applications do not qualify. See citizenship fee waivers for the citizenship position.

The affordability test

The Home Office grants a waiver where you show one of the following:

you cannot afford the fee at all; or
you could pay it, but doing so would leave you unable to meet your essential living needs (accommodation, food, utilities, clothing, travel to work or school); or
there are exceptional circumstances, for example a child whose welfare is at risk.

Your whole household's income and outgoings are considered, including help you receive from family or friends and whether that help is realistically available for the fee. Being in work does not rule you out; being on benefits does not guarantee a waiver. The decision is about the figures and the evidence behind them.

What the waiver covers

The application fee (£1,407 for most in-country extensions on 15 October 2026) and the immigration health surcharge (£1,035 a year for an adult, paid for the whole period of leave). The Home Office can waive both, or the surcharge only.

Evidence

Bank statements for every account, usually the last six months, with large or unusual payments explained.
Income: payslips, benefit letters, self-employment accounts, or a statement that you have no income and how you live.
Outgoings: tenancy agreement or mortgage statement, council tax, utilities, childcare, debts.
Support from others: a letter from the person supporting you and their own bank statements.
Anything that shows the effect on children in the household.

Gaps and unexplained transactions are the usual reason for refusal. We check every statement before anything is submitted.

This is not a complete list. What you need depends on your circumstances, and the documents vary from case to case. Your solicitor will tell you exactly what applies to you.

The process and timing

Fee waiver request submitted online with the evidence. There is no fee for the request.
Decision. Waiting times vary and are not published; several weeks is common.
If granted, the Home Office gives a reference that lets you submit the main application without the fee. The main application must be submitted within 10 working days of the grant.
If refused, you can submit a paid application, or make a new request with better evidence. A refusal is not an immigration decision and does not end your leave.

Timing matters. A fee waiver request on its own does not extend your leave. If your leave expires while the request is pending, section 3C protection depends on the main application being submitted in time after the decision. We plan the dates with you so that you are not left without status.

What we charge

A fixed fee, agreed before we start, for preparing the fee waiver request and evidence; a separate fixed fee for the leave to remain application that follows. A half-hour consultation with a solicitor is £80 and is deducted from the fixed fee if you instruct us. See our fees.

Questions people ask

How long does a fee waiver application take?

The Home Office does not publish a service standard. In our experience decisions take several weeks, longer where evidence is missing and the Home Office writes for more. Submitting a complete request with all statements is the best way to shorten it.

My fee waiver was refused. What now?

Read the reasons: most refusals are about unexplained transactions, missing accounts or support from others that the Home Office thinks could pay the fee. We review the decision and either submit a new request with the gaps closed, or, where your leave is about to expire, submit the paid application to protect your status.

Can I apply for a fee waiver for ILR?

No. Settlement applications are not covered. If you cannot afford the ILR fee the usual course is a further leave to remain application with a fee waiver, which keeps you lawfully in the UK while you save for settlement.

Does the waiver cover the health surcharge?

Yes, where you qualify. The Home Office can also waive the surcharge alone where you can pay the application fee but not both.

Can I apply from outside the UK?

Family entry clearance applications based on human rights have a separate fee waiver process. Ask us; the test is similar but the evidence is about the sponsor's finances in the UK as well as yours. {ASK}