[holding answer 11 December 2008]: The visa fees for business visitors, students, family visitors, spouse or civil partners of a settled person, children of a settled person, prospective students and visits from China for the last three years are listed in the following table:
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Business visitors 50 63 65 Students 85 99 99 Family visitors 50 63 65 Spouses or civil partners of a settled person 260 500 515 Children of a settled person 260 500 515 Prospective students 85 99 99 Visitors from China 50 63 65 Long term visitor visa—multiple entry visa valid for 1, 2, 5 or 10 years (available to business visitors, family visitors and visitors from China) 85 200 205
We recently ran a pilot in China from 3 March 2008 to 3 October 2008 for visitors applying as a group to travel to the UK with a known and trusted agent. It was only open to those applicants who intended to travel with an agent who is part of the Approved Destination Scheme. We set a fee of £44 during March which then increased to £45 from April.