How do you extend a UK visa in London in 2026? Fees from April, eVisa rules, identity checks and the mistakes that cost people their stay

If your permission to stay in the UK runs out in the next few months, the most important date is not the day your visa ends but the day you submit your application. To extend a UK visa you must apply from inside the UK before your current permission expires, pay a fee that rose on 8 April 2026, cover the immigration health surcharge for the whole new period and prove your identity either through the UK Immigration: ID Check app or at a biometrics appointment. Get those steps right and you can usually keep living, working and studying in London while the Home Office decides. Get them wrong and you can lose your right to work overnight, reports The WP Times.

This guide explains, in plain English, how an in-country extension works in 2026, what it costs on each of the main routes, which visas cannot be extended at all, how the eVisa system has changed the paperwork, and what Londoners most often get wrong. Fees and rules below were checked against GOV.UK in November 2026. Immigration rules change frequently, so always confirm the exact figure on GOV.UK on the day you pay.

What does extending a UK visa actually mean

In everyday speech people talk about "extending a visa", but in Home Office language you are applying for further permission to stay, also called leave to remain. You do this from inside the UK, on the same route you are already on, or by switching to a different route where the rules allow it.

Extension, switching and settlement are three different things

An extension keeps you on the same route. A Skilled Worker who changes nothing except the end date, or a student who needs more time to finish a course, is extending. Switching means moving from one route to another without leaving the UK, for example from Student to Skilled Worker or from Graduate to Skilled Worker. Settlement, also called indefinite leave to remain or ILR, is not an extension at all. It removes the time limit on your stay and has its own, much higher fee and its own requirements, including the Life in the UK test and English language evidence.

Mixing these up is the source of many mistakes. Someone who believes they are "just extending" may in fact need a new certificate of sponsorship from an employer, a new course offer, or evidence that they meet the requirements of a completely different route.

Why the timing matters more than anything else

The rule that protects you is known as section 3C leave, after the section of the Immigration Act 1971 that creates it. If you submit a valid application for further permission before your current permission expires, your existing permission is automatically extended, on the same conditions, until the Home Office makes a decision and any appeal or administrative review is finished. In practice this means a Skilled Worker can keep working for the same employer, and a student can keep studying, while the application is pending.

If you apply even one day late, there is no section 3C protection. You become an overstayer from the day after expiry, your right to work and rent can be challenged, and a later application may be refused because of the gap. The Home Office can disregard short periods of overstaying in limited circumstances where there was a good reason, but you should never plan around that.

Which visas can be extended from inside the UK

Most work, study and family routes allow you to apply for more time from inside the UK, as long as you still meet the requirements. A few popular routes do not.

Routes where an extension is usually possible

• Skilled Worker, including the Health and Care Worker visa, as long as you have a valid certificate of sponsorship from a licensed sponsor
• Student, if you have a new confirmation of acceptance for studies and meet the rules on academic progress and time limits
• Family routes such as partner, spouse and parent, usually in 30-month or 33-month blocks on the way to settlement
• Global Talent, Innovator Founder and Scale-up, each with its own endorsement or sponsorship rules
• Dependants of people on these routes, who normally apply alongside or after the main applicant

Routes that cannot simply be extended

• Graduate visa: it is granted once, for two years, or three for PhD graduates. To stay longer you must switch to another route, most often Skilled Worker.
• Youth Mobility Scheme: you cannot extend it beyond the period granted. You would need to qualify for a different route.
• Standard Visitor: visitors are normally limited to six months in total. A visitor extension exists only in narrow circumstances, for example ongoing private medical treatment or academics on longer stays, and you cannot switch from visitor to most work or study routes from inside the UK.
• Seasonal Worker and some other temporary routes have strict maximum periods.

If your route cannot be extended, the question is not how to extend it but which other route you qualify for, and whether you can switch in-country or must apply from abroad. This is the point at which professional advice usually pays for itself.

How much does it cost to extend a UK visa in 2026

The Home Office raised most application fees on 8 April 2026. The figures below are the in-country fees per person, taken from the official fee table published on GOV.UK. Dependants on the same application usually pay the same fee as the main applicant.

Application fees for the most common routes

The "leave to remain, other" line covers many applications that do not have their own entry, including most family applications. If you are not sure which fee applies to your case, the online application form calculates it once you choose your route, and that figure is the one you will be charged.

The immigration health surcharge on top

On top of the application fee, almost everyone extending a stay of more than six months must pay the immigration health surcharge, which gives access to the NHS on broadly the same basis as a permanent resident. It is charged for every year of permission you are applying for, and half a year is charged for any part-year of six months or less.

Health and Care Worker visa holders and their dependants are exempt from the surcharge. Some other groups are exempt too, and certain NHS and social care staff can claim reimbursement, so check the GOV.UK exemption list before you pay.

Worked examples for a London household

To see how quickly the total climbs, take a Skilled Worker in Westminster extending for three years with a partner and one child aged eight. Each of the three pays the £943 application fee, a total of £2,829. The surcharge for the two adults is £1,035 times three years each, £6,210, and for the child £776 times three, £2,328. Together that is £8,538 for the surcharge and £11,367 in total, before any priority service or legal fees. Many employers do not cover dependants' costs, so it is worth asking HR early.

A student extending for one year to finish a master's pays £558 plus £776, so £1,334. A partner on the family route applying for 30 months pays £1,407 plus two and a half years of surcharge at £1,035, which is £2,587.50, giving £3,994.50.

Priority and super priority services

If you need a decision quickly, many in-country routes offer paid priority options, subject to availability. Priority costs £500 and aims for a decision within five working days of your biometrics or identity check. Super priority costs £1,000 and aims for a decision by the end of the next working day. These slots are limited and are released daily, so they can sell out. The fee is in addition to the application fee and the surcharge, and it does not make a weak application stronger. It only makes the decision arrive sooner.

How to extend a UK visa step by step

The process is almost entirely online. There is no counter in London where you can hand in a form, and the Home Office headquarters at 2 Marsham Street in Westminster does not deal with individual applications. Everything starts on GOV.UK.

Step 1: check the date and the requirements

Find your current expiry date in your UKVI account, which is where your eVisa lives. Put it in your calendar with reminders three months and six weeks before. Then open the GOV.UK page for your route and read the eligibility section in full. Requirements change: salary thresholds, English language levels and the list of eligible occupations for Skilled Workers have all been revised more than once in recent years.

Step 2: get the document only someone else can give you

For many routes the slowest part is a document from a third party. A Skilled Worker needs a new certificate of sponsorship from the employer, a student needs a new confirmation of acceptance for studies from the university, and Global Talent, Innovator Founder and some others need an endorsement. Ask for these early. HR teams and university visa offices in London handle large volumes in autumn, and a certificate cannot be rushed on the last day.

Step 3: complete the online form and pay

Fill in the application on GOV.UK, choose the length of permission where you have a choice, and pay the application fee and the immigration health surcharge. Your application date is normally the date you pay and submit online. That is the date that counts for section 3C leave, so do not leave the payment until after expiry.

Step 4: prove your identity

After paying you will be told how to prove your identity. Many applicants with an existing eVisa or biometric passport can use the UK Immigration: ID Check app on a smartphone to scan their passport chip and take a photo. Others must book an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services centre, often called UKVCAS, to give fingerprints and a photo. London has several service points, with free appointments where available and paid slots that are easier to get. Book as soon as you can, because missing the deadline for identity verification can lead to the application being treated as invalid.

Step 5: upload your evidence

Upload documents through the online service or at the appointment. Typical evidence includes your passport, payslips or bank statements, proof of accommodation, English language evidence, a tuberculosis certificate where required, and documents for each dependant such as birth and marriage certificates. Make sure scans are clear and complete. A missing page is one of the most common reasons for delays and requests for further information.

Step 6: wait, and do not travel abroad

The Home Office service standard for most in-country applications is a decision within eight weeks of your identity check, although complex cases and family applications can take longer. While you wait, stay inside the Common Travel Area, which is the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. If you travel outside it before a decision, your application is normally treated as withdrawn, and your section 3C protection ends with it.

How the eVisa changes the paperwork

The plastic biometric residence permit has been replaced by an eVisa, a digital record of your immigration status linked to your passport. If you extend your stay in 2026 you will not receive a new card. Your updated permission will appear in your UKVI account.

Proving your status to employers and landlords

Employers and landlords check your status online. You generate a share code through the View and prove your immigration status service on GOV.UK and give it to them with your date of birth. Share codes for right to work and right to rent are different, so choose the right purpose. While an application is pending under section 3C, the employer or landlord can contact the Home Office checking service to confirm that you still have permission.

Keeping your UKVI account up to date

When you renew your passport, update the passport details in your UKVI account straight away. If the passport linked to your eVisa has expired, airlines and border staff may not be able to see your status when you travel. Keep your email address and phone number current too, because that is where the Home Office sends requests and the decision.

Common mistakes that cost Londoners their stay

Most refusals and invalid applications come from avoidable errors rather than complicated legal points.

Mistakes before you apply

• Applying after expiry, often because someone confused the end date of their permission with the date on their old card or their employment contract
• Assuming the Graduate or Youth Mobility visa can be extended and finding out too late that a switch is needed
• Using the wrong route or fee, which can make an application invalid
• Not checking that the employer's sponsor licence is still valid, or that the job still meets the current salary and skill rules
• Leaving the certificate of sponsorship or confirmation of acceptance for studies until the last week

Mistakes after you apply

• Travelling abroad for a weekend while the application is pending, which normally withdraws it
• Missing the identity verification deadline
• Ignoring emails asking for more documents
• Starting a new job with a different employer during a pending Skilled Worker application without checking the rules on changing employment
• Letting the passport linked to the eVisa expire without updating the UKVI account

What happens if you are refused or run out of time

A refusal is stressful, but the letter will tell you what options you have and the deadline for using them.

Administrative review and appeals

For many points-based and work routes, the remedy is administrative review, a check by a different Home Office official that the decision was made correctly. It must usually be requested within 14 days if you are in the UK, and there is a fee. Human rights and protection claims, including many family applications, carry a right of appeal to the tribunal instead. While an administrative review or in-time appeal is pending, section 3C leave can continue, but strict deadlines apply.

If your visa has already expired

If you have already passed your expiry date without applying, get advice immediately. Do not try to work it out from forums. Late applications can sometimes succeed if there was a good reason and the delay was short, but the consequences for work, renting, banking and future applications can be serious. Regulated advice is available from solicitors and from advisers registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, and some free help is available through charities and law centres.

Switching routes without leaving London

For many young professionals in London the real question is not how to extend but how to switch. The two most common moves are from Student or Graduate to Skilled Worker.

From Student to Skilled Worker

Students can usually switch to Skilled Worker from inside the UK, but timing matters. In general you must have completed your course before your Skilled Worker start date, and doctoral students must have studied for at least 24 months. Applying too early can lead to refusal. Check with your university visa team before your employer assigns the certificate of sponsorship.

From Graduate to Skilled Worker

Because the Graduate visa cannot be extended, anyone who wants to stay in a job after it ends must switch before the Graduate permission expires. Employers need a sponsor licence and the role must meet the current skill and salary rules. Some graduates qualify for reduced salary thresholds as new entrants, so ask the employer to check which threshold applies. Start the conversation with HR at least four to six months before your Graduate visa ends.

Dependants and children born in the UK

Partners and children normally apply on the same route as the main applicant. They can be included in the same application or apply later, but each person needs their own fee and surcharge. A child born in the UK to parents who hold temporary permission does not automatically get any status and will need an application of their own, so include newborns in your planning.

From extension to settlement and citizenship

For many people in Westminster and Pimlico an extension is a step on the road to staying permanently. After the qualifying period on an eligible route, you may apply for indefinite leave to remain, which from 8 April 2026 costs £3,226 per person. The government has consulted on changing how long people must wait before settling, so anyone planning for ILR should check the current GOV.UK guidance rather than relying on what applied to friends a few years ago.

Citizenship ceremonies in Westminster

Once you have settled, you may be able to apply for British citizenship. The naturalisation fee from 8 April 2026 is £1,709, and a citizenship ceremony fee of £130 is added. Successful applicants who live in the borough attend a ceremony arranged by Westminster City Council's register office, based at the Old Marylebone Town Hall on Marylebone Road, where they make the oath or affirmation and receive their certificate.

Practical checklist before you press submit

• Your current permission expires on: date checked in the UKVI account
• Route confirmed and eligibility read in full on GOV.UK
• Certificate of sponsorship, confirmation of acceptance for studies or endorsement received
• Application fee and health surcharge calculated for every family member
• Passport valid and linked to your UKVI account
• Identity check method known, app or UKVCAS appointment booked
• Supporting documents scanned clearly, with translations where needed
• No travel booked outside the Common Travel Area until a decision arrives
• Employer and landlord told that an application is pending

If you are busy planning the rest of the year in London, you may also find our guides to the London Christmas lights, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and Whitehall road closures useful. For families thinking about household help, our explainer on what London household staff cost and how to hire them also covers right to work checks.

Frequently asked questions

Can I extend my UK visa after it has expired

Not safely. You must apply before your current permission ends to keep your rights under section 3C. A late application is only considered in limited circumstances, so get regulated advice at once if you have missed the date.

How early can I apply for an extension

There is usually no fixed earliest date for further leave, but your new permission runs from the decision, not from the end of the old visa, so applying very early can mean losing some months. For settlement there are specific rules, including applying no more than 28 days before you reach the qualifying period.

Can I work while my extension is being decided

Yes, if you applied in time. Your existing permission and its conditions continue under section 3C until a decision is made and any review or appeal ends.

Do I get a new card when my visa is extended

No. Since the move to eVisas, your new permission is recorded digitally in your UKVI account. You prove it with a share code.

Can I travel abroad while I wait

You can travel within the Common Travel Area. Leaving it before a decision will normally mean your application is treated as withdrawn.

Background

The UK has moved most immigration processes online over the past decade, closing public enquiry offices and replacing paper documents with digital status. The last big step was the phase-out of biometric residence permits in favour of eVisas. At the same time, application fees and the immigration health surcharge have risen several times, most recently on 8 April 2026, which means a family extension can now cost more than a year's rent on a room in central London. For residents of Westminster, which is home to many international workers in government, hospitality, health and finance, getting the timing and the paperwork right has never mattered more.

More London news, guides and local updates for Westminster and Pimlico are on The WP Times. Read also: UK fireworks law 2026, pension and inheritance tax planning in the UK, Boxing Day 2026 in London and Westminster Abbey at Christmas.

Sources used: GOV.UK Home Office immigration and nationality fees from 8 April 2026; GOV.UK Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application; GOV.UK guidance on eVisas and on proving your immigration status; Immigration Act 1971, section 3C.