Originally Posted by
flatlander
I'd say that the vastly inflated rates (about 10 times the actual cost of processing for UK Visas and Immigration) I am paying to process partner visas for my non-EU family should pay for an excellent service from anything to do with the Border Force - since the Home Office specifically says that the high charges on their visa services are to cross-fund other services for UK citizens. The UK Border Force and UK Immigration and Visas charge high fees for very poor service, far beyond what the service costs to provide.
The UK is shockingly expensive when compared to the US for some of its fees. Registered Traveller comes to mind, which is £70 the first year and £50 per year for renewal, compared with the US’ global entry which is $100 per five years and includes the PreCheck benefit (and many premium credit cards refund the cost as well). I’ve not done a recent comparison of passenger processing charges but I imagine the UK is near the high end of the price spectrum as well.