Fees and Charges
Several departments of the Velocity Interoperability Network charge fees for particular services: for the issue of a visa or a licence, for an examination, for a consultation with a visitor who is not entitled to free care. Every such fee is set under a single schedule approved by the member organisations with the annual budget, and every credit collected is paid into the common fund. This page sets out the principles that govern fees, the procedure by which they are set, the schedule for the transitional period and the income departments expect to collect.
Fees matter to members because they reduce contributions. The budget of the Network is met by the contributions of its members less the fee income departments expect to collect, so every credit of fee income is a credit that is not assessed on a member. The figures below summarise the position at establishment.
- 23
- Fees and charges in the schedule for the transitional period
- 0.42m
- Credits of fee income departments expect to collect between 6 September and 31 December 2026
- 2.10m
- Credits of fee income departments expect to collect in 2027, on their indicative estimates
- 5.0%
- Share of the indicative budget for 2027 that fee income would offset
Principles. The Department applies the following principles to every fee proposed by a department. They were agreed by the founding members with the transitional budget on 10 August 2026 and apply in every later year unless a change is notified to members with the draft budget.
- Cost recovery
- A fee may not exceed the cost of providing the service to which it relates. No department may set a fee to raise revenue beyond that cost, and a fee whose proceeds exceed the cost of the service over a full year is reduced with the next schedule.
- Members' staff and citizens
- Services provided to the staff of member organisations and to citizens of the Network in the course of the Network's business are provided without charge. Fees are charged chiefly to visitors, to applicants for licences and permits, and to persons using a service for a private or commercial purpose.
- No retention
- A department retains none of the fees it collects. The proceeds are paid into the common fund and are available only through the department's allocation under the approved budget.
- Waivers
- A department may waive a fee in a case of hardship, under criteria published with the schedule on its own site. Waivers are reported in the department's monthly return to the Department, with the number and value of fees waived.
- Netting against contributions
- The income departments expect to collect is deducted from approved expenditure when the standard rate is fixed. Any difference between the income expected and the income received is carried to the following year's assessment, so that members neither pay twice nor pay for income that did not arrive.
- Annual review
- Every fee is reviewed with the estimates each year. A department states in Part F of its estimate the fees it proposes to continue, amend or withdraw, and a fee that was not collected at all during a year is removed from the schedule.
The schedule for the transitional period. The twenty-three fees below were notified to the Department by the departments concerned before establishment and apply from 6 September to 31 December 2026. Fees are stated in credits. Each department publishes the full terms of its fees, including any criteria for waiver, on its own site; where those terms differ from the summary here, the department's published terms prevail. No other department charges a fee during the transitional period.
| Department | Fee or charge | Credits | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration Department | Visa application, single entry | 120 | Per application |
| Immigration Department | Visa application, multiple entry | 260 | Per application |
| Immigration Department | Passport issue or renewal | 85 | Per passport |
| Immigration Department | Replacement of a lost or damaged passport | 130 | Per passport |
| Health Department | Non-urgent consultation for a visitor to the Network | 60 | Per consultation |
| Health Department | Travel health consultation for a visitor | 45 | Per consultation |
| Justice Department | Filing of a civil claim | 150 | Per claim |
| Justice Department | Certified copy of a judgment | 20 | Per copy |
| Education Department | Certification examination | 90 | Per candidate |
| Education Department | Replacement certificate | 25 | Per certificate |
| Transport Department | Vehicle registration | 45 | Per vehicle, per year |
| Transport Department | Operator licence | 300 | Per licence, per year |
| Interior Department | Facility access pass for a contractor | 35 | Per pass, per year |
| Communications Department | Spectrum licence, low power | 400 | Per licence, per year |
| Communications Department | Broadcasting licence | 1,500 | Per licence, per year |
| Environment Department | Site permit | 220 | Per permit |
| Commerce Department | Business registration | 75 | Per registration |
| Trade Department | Certificate of origin | 30 | Per certificate |
| Agriculture Department | Inspection of a consignment | 110 | Per inspection |
| Energy Department | Generator licence | 350 | Per licence, per year |
| Labour Department | Work permit | 95 | Per permit |
| Housing Department | Tenancy registration | 15 | Per tenancy |
| Police Department | Certificate of good conduct | 40 | Per certificate |
No fee income was deducted from the transitional contributions, because the departments had no schedule of fees before establishment and the founding members agreed the transitional budget on gross expenditure. The fees collected between 6 September and 31 December 2026 will be paid into the common fund, reported in each quarterly statement of expenditure and credited against the assessments for 2027. The register of transitional contributions is on the Member Contributions page.
Expected income. The table below shows the income each department expects to collect during the transitional period, and the income stated in Part F of its indicative estimate for 2027. The 2027 figures are indicative only: departments may confirm or revise them until 20 September 2026, and the amount deducted when the standard rate for 2027 is fixed will be the amount in the approved budget.
| Department | 6 September to 31 December 2026 | 2027 (indicative) |
|---|---|---|
| Immigration Department | 165,000 | 820,000 |
| Communications Department | 70,000 | 340,000 |
| Transport Department | 45,000 | 230,000 |
| Justice Department | 30,000 | 150,000 |
| Education Department | 28,000 | 140,000 |
| Health Department | 22,000 | 110,000 |
| Energy Department | 16,000 | 80,000 |
| Commerce Department | 12,000 | 60,000 |
| Environment Department | 10,000 | 50,000 |
| Labour Department | 8,000 | 40,000 |
| Agriculture Department | 6,000 | 30,000 |
| Interior Department | 4,000 | 20,000 |
| Trade Department | 2,000 | 12,000 |
| Police Department | 1,500 | 10,000 |
| Housing Department | 500 | 8,000 |
| Total | 420,000 | 2,100,000 |
The Immigration Department expects to collect the largest share because visa and passport fees are charged to every applicant from outside the Network, and the Communications Department the next largest because spectrum and broadcasting licences are renewed each year. Departments not listed do not expect to collect fees in either period. Guidance on stating expected income is given on the Estimates page.
How a fee is set. The steps below apply to every fee, whether proposed with the estimates or during the year.
Step 1: The department proposes the fee
The department states the service, the cost of providing it, the proposed amount, who will pay it and the number of fees it expects to collect. Proposals are made in Part F of the department's estimate by 1 September, or during the year by writing to the Department.
Step 2: The Department reviews the cost basis
The Department checks that the proposed fee does not exceed the cost of the service, that the cost is consistent with the department's allocation, and that the expected volume is realistic. Where it is not satisfied, it raises a query with the department rather than altering the proposal.
Step 3: Members are notified
Proposed fees are listed in a schedule circulated with the draft budget on 1 October. Members may comment on any fee within the same thirty days as the budget, and the comments are published with the Department's response by 15 November.
Step 4: The schedule is approved
The schedule of fees is approved by the members with the final budget on 1 December and takes effect on 1 January. A fee proposed during the year takes effect thirty days after members are notified unless five or more members object, in which case it is held over to the next budget.
Step 5: The schedule is published
The Department publishes the approved schedule on this page within ten days of approval. The department that collects a fee publishes the full terms, including any criteria for waiver, on its own site.
Step 6: Fees are collected and remitted
The collecting department issues a receipt for every fee and remits the proceeds to the common fund within ten days of the end of each month, with a return stating the number of fees collected under each heading and the number waived.
Questions about fees. The questions below have been put to the Department by departments, members and members of the public since the schedule was notified.
Fee income received appears as a receipt into the common fund, described on The Common Fund page, and is reported by department in every quarterly statement on the Spending page and in the audited accounts on the Accounts page. Questions about the schedule may be sent to contact@treasury.gov.vin; questions about a particular fee should be put first to the department that charges it.