UK visa extension: how to extend, fees and timing

Most UK visas can be extended from inside the UK, as long as you apply before your current permission runs out. The application is made online, your biometrics are reused or taken again, and your existing permission continues under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 until a decision is made, as long as you applied in time.

Which visas can be extended

Route	Extension	Leads to settlement
Spouse, partner or parent (family)	FLR(M) or FLR(FP), for a further 30 months	Yes, at five years (ten on the FP route)
Skilled Worker	For the length of the new sponsorship, up to five years	Yes, at five years
Student	For a new course, if you meet the progression rule	No
Graduate	Cannot be extended; switch to Skilled Worker or another route	Via the new route
Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up	Yes, on each route's own terms	Yes
Visitor	No. Visitors cannot extend beyond six months or switch in the UK	No
Youth Mobility	Australian, Canadian and New Zealand nationals can extend by one year; others cannot	No
Private life, 7-year child, human rights grants	FLR(FP) or FLR(HRO), 30 months	Yes, usually at ten years

If your route cannot be extended, the question is whether you can switch to a different route from inside the UK. Most work, study and family routes allow switching; visit visas do not.

When to apply

Apply before your current permission expires. The day it expires is too late.
You can apply any time in the last few months of your permission. For Skilled Workers the new certificate of sponsorship must be assigned first.
Once you have applied in time, you can keep working, studying and renting on the same conditions until the decision, and for any appeal or administrative review period. Do not travel outside the Common Travel Area while the application is pending; leaving withdraws it.
If you miss the deadline, you become an overstayer. A late application made within 14 days with a good reason can still be considered; after that, the options narrow quickly. Ask us the same day.

Fees from 8 April 2026

Application	Fee
Family and other leave to remain (FLR(M), FLR(FP), FLR(HRO))	£1,407
Skilled Worker, sponsorship of three years or less	£943
Skilled Worker, sponsorship of more than three years	£1,865
Skilled Worker on the Immigration Salary List	£628 (up to three years) or £1,235 (over three years)
Student extension	£558
Priority service, decision within five working days	£500 on top
Super priority service, decision by the end of the next working day	£1,000 on top

The immigration health surcharge is paid with the application: £1,035 for each year of permission for adults, £776 for children and students. A 30-month family extension costs £2,587.50 in surcharge for an adult. If you cannot afford the fee on a family or human rights route, a fee waiver may be available; it does not cover work routes.

How long it takes

The standard service aims to decide in-country applications within eight weeks of your biometrics appointment. Priority and super priority are subject to availability and are switched off for some routes at busy times. A complicated case (criminal record, previous refusal, gaps in residence) can be taken out of the standard timescale whatever service you paid for.

What goes wrong

Financial requirement on family routes. The £29,000 threshold applies to extensions for couples who first applied on or after 11 April 2024; couples on the route before that keep £18,600 plus the child amounts. Payslips and bank statements must match and cover the right months.
English. Family extensions need A2 at the first extension. Settlement will need B2 from 26 March 2027 (see ILR changes 2026).
Sponsor problems. If your employer's licence is suspended or revoked, your permission is cut short and you have 60 days to find a new sponsor. See exploited sponsored workers if the problem is the employer's conduct.
Absences. Extensions do not carry a strict absence limit, but settlement does (180 days in any 12 months). Keep a record.

What we do

We check the route and the timing, confirm you meet every requirement before the fee is paid, prepare the application and the document bundle, and deal with the Home Office until the decision. Fixed fees are agreed in writing first. See further leave to remain fees and our spouse visa and Skilled Worker pages.