Replace the bold sections with your details.
To: UK Visas and Immigration
[Address or email as per original visa correspondence]
Date: [date of letter]
Subject: Request for refund of overpaid Student/Child Student entry clearance fee - application reference [GWF or UAN number]
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to request a refund of £[127 / 161] relating to the Student/Child Student entry clearance fee I paid on [date of payment] in respect of my application with reference number [GWF / UAN].
The fee I was charged was £[490 / 524]. The fee specified in law, at line 1.3.11A of Schedule 1 of the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/330), is £363. The two statutory instruments that the Home Office intended to use to uplift this fee - SI 2023/1004 and SI 2025/363 - purported to amend line 1.3.11, which had already been deleted from Schedule 1 in December 2020, rather than the operative line 1.3.11A. The statute book was therefore never updated, and the current version of the Regulations on legislation.gov.uk continues to show the fee as £363.
This drafting error was identified by the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, which drew the matter to the special attention of the House in its 57th Report of Session 2024-26.
The Immigration and Nationality Refunds Policy (version 13.0, published for Home Office caseworkers on 8 April 2026) sets out, under "General principle of refunds", that the Home Office will refund an application fee where "an incorrect fee has been charged and paid to the Home Office" and where "there is no legal basis to keep the fee." Both conditions are met in my case: the fee I was charged exceeded the fee specified in Schedule 1 of the 2018 Regulations, and there is no statutory basis on which the Home Office can retain the difference between £363 and the amount I paid.
My request is within the five-year window specified in the refunds policy, as payment was made on [date of payment].
I therefore request a refund of £[127 / 161], being the amount paid in excess of the statutory fee. I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this request, indicate when I can expect a response, and provide details of the refund method. In line with the published policy, I would expect the refund to be returned to the original method of payment.
Yours faithfully,
[Full name]
[Contact email]
[Correspondence address]
[Application reference / GWF / UAN]
[Date of visa grant, if applicable]