I paid the wrong (reduced) Skilled Worker dependant visa fee — what happens now?
If you paid the immigration salary list (ISL) reduced application fee on your Skilled Worker dependant application but you weren't entitled to that rate, the most likely outcome is not an instant refusal. Where the wrong or an insufficient fee has been paid, Home Office caseworker guidance says they will normally write to you and give you a single opportunity to put it right — typically by paying the difference within a set deadline. Your application is only rejected as invalid if you don't respond in time. So this is usually fixable, but it is not guaranteed, and the safest thing you can do right now is be ready to pay the shortfall the moment they ask.
- The ISL reduced fee is a genuine lower rate — but it only applies if the main applicant's job is on the immigration salary list.
- A dependant pays the fee for the same category and length of time as the main applicant, so your fee should mirror your husband's, not be chosen separately.
- If you pay the wrong or too low a fee, the Home Office normally writes out and gives one chance to correct it (commonly 10 working days; paper-form errors can be 14 days).
- If you don't pay the difference by the deadline, the application can be rejected as invalid.
- If an application is rejected as invalid, a fee over £30 is refunded minus a £30 administrative charge.
What the immigration salary list reduced fee actually is
The immigration salary list is a list of skilled jobs that carry a lower salary requirement for the Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker routes. GOV.UK is explicit that if the main applicant's job is on the list, "you and your family will pay a lower application fee" — so the reduced rate is real and it does extend to dependants. The figure you mention (£628) is the kind of reduced rate that applies to an ISL application for three years or less, covering the main applicant and dependants.
The critical word is if. The reduced fee is tied to the main applicant's certificate of sponsorship and occupation. A dependant doesn't independently qualify for the ISL rate — you inherit it from the main applicant. So the question isn't really "was I allowed to pay £628?" — it's "was my husband's application on the immigration salary list?" If it was, you may well have paid correctly. If it wasn't, you've underpaid and that's what needs fixing.
How dependant fees are supposed to be worked out
For Skilled Worker dependants, GOV.UK states that a partner or child applying as a dependant "will pay the fee for the same length of time as you" — meaning the same fee category and duration as the main applicant. You don't pick your own band. Because you paid the correct immigration health surcharge for three years, that suggests your application is built around a three-year period, and the matching three-year application fee (standard or ISL) is what should have been paid.
Double-check one thing: your husband now has ILR (settled status). If his Skilled Worker permission and certificate of sponsorship were still ISL-based at the time your application was submitted, the ISL fee may genuinely be the right one for you. Use the official Home Office visa fee tool to confirm the exact current fee for your category and duration, so you know precisely whether £628 matches or whether there's a gap.
What the Home Office does about a wrong or short fee
This is the reassuring part. Home Office validation guidance is clear that where an application is received with a fee paid but it's the wrong amount, caseworkers must write out and "provide a single opportunity to correct any omission or error." You're given a deadline to respond — commonly 10 working days (some paper-form error templates allow 14 days). Pay the difference within that window and the application proceeds as normal.
The risk is only triggered if you miss the deadline or don't pay. In that case the application can be rejected as invalid, and any fee over £30 is refunded minus a £30 administrative charge. A rejection isn't a refusal on the merits and doesn't carry the same consequences, but it does mean you'd have to apply again — and if your existing leave has since lapsed, timing can become stressful. That's exactly why being ready to pay quickly matters more than worrying about whether £628 was right.
Do not ignore any email or letter from UKVI asking for a fee. The window to top up a short fee is short — often around 10 working days — and missing it can turn an easily fixed underpayment into an invalid application. Check your inbox (including spam) and any online account daily.
What you should do right now
First, don't panic and don't pre-emptively cancel anything. Confirm the correct fee for your exact category and duration using the official GOV.UK fee tool, then compare it to the £628 you paid. If there's a shortfall, simply be ready to pay it the instant the Home Office asks — have the card and funds available. Keep monitoring the email address and any account linked to the application every day, because the correction request usually arrives by email with a firm deadline. If weeks pass with no contact and no decision, you can contact UKVI to ask about the status, but in most cases the Home Office will reach out to you first.
If the gap turns out to be larger than expected, it's worth understanding the wider cost picture for settling in the UK. Our guides on the Skilled Worker salary threshold for ILR and how much ILR actually costs can help you budget for the road ahead.