IHS payment (not) made

Hello.

My MP is now involved with pushing along my application. They contacted UKVI today and were told that my application was ready for a decision but the IHS surcharge was not paid. I applied from the US and from what I can find the IHS surcharge was included when applying online.
Is this rocket science? What is the best way to prove I have paid this fee?

Thanks y'all.

If you paid the £600 IHS surcharge when you applied for the visa (it’s a separate payment to the visa fee, so you would have paid about $1,700 for the visa and then another $800 or so for the IHS), then you just need to email them your IHS reference number and they should be able to issue the visa.

If you didn’t pay it when you applied online, then you need to pay it now and then email them with your IHS reference number. You go here to pay it:
https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/pay


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Thanks for your super fast response. I applied outside the U.K. so when I go to that link and answer the questions it says IHS fee is included in visa payment. Is this correct?

Thanks for your super fast response. I applied outside the U.K. so when I go to that link and answer the questions it says IHS fee is included in visa payment. Is this correct?

No, the IHS always has to be paid separately to the visa fee as it is paid through a different website.

When you apply online from outside the UK, you should be directed to the link I gave above to register an account and then pay the IHS fee. You pay it on that site and then return to the online application website to submit the application and pay the visa fee.

If you do not pay the separate IHS fee, they cannot issue the visa. If you didn’t pay it when you applied online, that may be what has been holding up your application.


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When you apply online from outside the UK, you should be directed to the link I gave above to register an account and then pay the IHS fee. You pay it on that site and then return to the online application website to submit the application and pay the visa fee.

Thanks. If I pay now, I will select applying from within the U.K. So it will let me continue and then I enter my husbands info as he is the applicant/US citizen? I hope this is my last stupid question. Thank you.

I just registered at that link (using filler information, of course) so I could see what you're seeing.

This is your husband's first visa, and I assume he's applying for a spouse visa from outside the UK?  I'm really confused, as well.  Ticking "no" when asked if I am applying from within the UK immediately brings me to a page that says "You don't need to continue. You need to pay the IHS in your visa application if you're applying from outside the UK."

When I try again, and tick "yes" to the "within the UK" question (which is wrong, because he wouldn't be applying from within the UK), the visa types available are in the images below:

I just registered at that link (using filler information, of course) so I could see what you're seeing.

This is your husband's first visa, and I assume he's applying for a spouse visa from outside the UK?  I'm really confused, as well.  Ticking "no" when asked if I am applying from within the UK immediately brings me to a page that says "You don't need to continue. You need to pay the IHS in your visa application if you're applying from outside the UK."

When I try again, and tick "yes" to the "within the UK" question (which is wrong, because he wouldn't be applying from within the UK), the visa types available are in the images below:

Ok, I am glad I am not crazy (although this process is pushing me a whole lot closer to that)! Thank you for testing it. All above is affirmative. I am tempted just to say it is within the U.K. just to get it paid. I can't find any other way to pay it retroactively at this point.

Ok, I am glad I am not crazy (although this process is pushing me a whole lot closer to that)! Thank you for testing it. All above is affirmative. I am tempted just to say it is within the U.K. just to get it paid. I can't find any other way to pay it retroactively at this point.

When you/your husband were completing his application at visa4UK.fco.gov.uk, he didn't have a step where he paid the IHS fee?  The procedural steps on the right show it in the timeline (see image below) before he pays the visa application fee.  What happened when he tried to do that step?  (Is he still able to log in to his account this much later? Maybe the link to pay IHS is different from that site.)

If you tick the "yes" box for within the UK and pay the IHS charge for a FLR visa, I don't think it's going to let you pay enough.  I was under the impression that the spouse visa's IHS fee is £600 (the visa should be valid for 33 months).  The FLR IHS fee, for just 30 months, is £500.

I wish someone with more knowledge was here.  I don't want to give you misinformation or further confuse things.

Ok, I am glad I am not crazy (although this process is pushing me a whole lot closer to that)! Thank you for testing it. All above is affirmative. I am tempted just to say it is within the U.K. just to get it paid. I can't find any other way to pay it retroactively at this point.

As jfkimberly said, the problem is that you will be charged the wrong amount if you select that you are applying from within the U.K.

You are charged based on the length of your visa. The spousal visa is valid for 2 years and 9 months so you have to pay £600 for the IHS.

But the visa from inside the U.K. is FLR(M) which is valid 2 years and 6 months and so you only pay £500.

You need to be able to select the visa from outside the U.K. in order to pay the correct amount of £600. Several people on the past have been asked to pay it later and have had no issue doing it, so I don’t understand why it’s not letting you. Did Sheffield send you any instructions on how to do it?

Also, what I’m confused about is how you managed to submit the visa application online without paying it... because the payment is a mandatory part of the online application (as jfkimberly’s picture shows just above). You can’t actually submit the visa without paying it (in fact, some people who are exempt from paying the IHS are being forced to do so purely to complete the online application and then they have to request a refund later).

What visa type did you select when you applied online?

If it was Settlement -> Husband, that was the 33-month spousal visa and you would have had to pay the £600 IHS at that time.

If if was Settlement -> Marriage, you applied for a 6-month fiancé visa to get married in the UK... and you don’t pay the IHS fee because that visa does not allow NHS use.

If it was the latter, then UKVI must have realised the mistake and are allowing you to pay the IHS so they can issue a spousal visa instead of refusing the fiancé visa.


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Hmm, there must be a way to pay it if later if you are outside the U.K., because the IHS surcharge website says the following:

If you don’t pay

You’ll get an email from UK Visas and Immigration if you don’t pay the surcharge (or don’t pay enough) as part of your visa or immigration application.

Check your junk folder if you can’t see the email in your inbox.

Once you get the email, you must pay the surcharge within:

- 10 working days if you’re inside the UK
- 7 working days if you’re outside the UK

Your visa or immigration application will be turned down if you don’t pay the full amount in this time.

Was there a link in your email for paying it? I’m assuming they must have a way for you to pay it without getting stuck on the page that says you must do it as part of the online application.


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I saw mention in other places of a "top up link" that they send out if you haven't paid the IHS, or haven't paid enough.  It's a different link than the normal payment links, and is emailed to the applicant when the situation occurs.  I think the current confusion is because LAwaiting learned she/her husband needs to pay through her MP, and not via email from Sheffield, so she doesn't have that link.  Maybe.

Is this rocket science? What is the best way to prove I have paid this fee?

If you paid then you will have an IHS reference number. That number is unique to your payment. Give your number to UKVI to prove that you paid your IHS.

UKVI are usually pretty good at spotting when an IHS hasn't been paid. Are you sure you paid it?

Was there a link in your email for paying it? I’m assuming they must have a way for you to pay it without getting stuck on the page that says you must do it as part of the online application.

They only ones I have seen where they don't get that link, is if they are applying for the wrong visa and one that doesn't require an IHS payment becasue they can't use the NHS bill free on that visa i.e. a fiance visa, a type of visitor visa, or any visa that will only be issued for 6 months or less. The only other one seems to be the bug for a child's IHS payment, but they contact those to get payment before they will issue a visa.

They only ones I have seen where they don't get that link, is if they are applying for the wrong visa and one that doesn't require an IHS payment becasue they can't use the NHS bill free on that visa i.e. a fiance visa, a type of visitor visa, or any visa that will only be issued for 6 months or less. The only other one seems to be the bug for a child's IHS payment, but they contact those to get payment before they will issue a visa.

I meant a link in the email from Sheffield requesting payment before they make a decision... but if there was no email sent and they found out about the payment through their MP, then I don’t know how they are going to be able to pay it.


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They only ones I have seen where they don't get that link, is if they are applying for the wrong visa and one that doesn't require an IHS payment becasue they can't use the NHS bill free on that visa i.e. a fiance visa, a type of visitor visa, or any visa that will only be issued for 6 months or less. The only other one seems to be the bug for a child's IHS payment, but they contact those to get payment before they will issue a visa.

From looking back at LAwaitng's posts, it seems they had a lawyer do her husband's application. Why hasn't the lawyer got his IHS reference number? The system won't let them continue until they pay their IHS.