Tier 2 (General) visa applicants who are applying from outside the UK have to submit and pay for their visa application using the following url: https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/home/welcome . The online payment system is currently not taking into account that there is reduced fee levels for Tier 2 applicants whose job is on the shortage occupation list.
According to the latest fees table of UK Visa Fees published on 18th March, 2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503658/Fees_table_18_March_2016_PDF.pdf the normal UK visa application fee for Tier 2 General visa application is £575 but those jobs that are currently on the shortage occupation list qualify for a reduced fee level of £437 which is £138 less. However when the overseas applicants reach the stage of paying for their visa application the system does not offer them the reduced fee even when they have clearly mentioned and specified in the relevant section that the job is on the official shortage occupation list.
There are about 36 different Standard Occupational Classification codes on the official shortage occupation list https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tier-2-shortage-occupation-list ; and there is a high likelihood that thousands of pounds are being overcharged by UKBA online system from overseas visa applicants from around the world.
One of our client recently submitted the Tier 2 online application from overseas and being a Chef his job falls under the 5434 code which is a shortage occupation but he had to pay the full fee. He even tried and contacted UKBA through their online website form but the response he received clearly showed that his message was not even ready properly. We will try and pursue this matter for our client and update in due course.
All overseas Tier 2 General visa applicants shall check if the job that their visa is sponsored for is on the shortage occupation list to qualify for a reduced visa fee.