5Fees for children who are entitled to be British
Payment of fees for re-applications by those who have previously been discriminated against
39.In Chapter 4 of our first Report, we raised concerns that people who have been refused British nationality because of discrimination should not have to pay an application fee a second time to reapply once that discrimination is removed. We therefore recommended that the Home Office take steps to ensure that those previously discriminated against do not have to pay the application fee when reapplying under section 4F (for example by the Home Office making a consequential amendment to the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018). The Home Office responded that it “is giving careful consideration to the Committee’s recommendation” but has not (yet) sought to make any such amendment to those Regulations (for example through using the draft remedial Order to make such an amendment). We have now received a letter from the Minister of State for Immigration, Caroline Nokes,28 that she will amend the Fees Regulations at the next available opportunity (which is likely to be October 2019) to address the issue identified by the Committee in relation to the double payment of fees. We welcome this and look forward to hearing further from the Home Office on progress towards these changes.
40.In our First Report we recommended that people who had been refused British nationality because of discrimination should not have to pay an application fee a second time to reapply once that discrimination was removed. The Committee welcomes the decision taken by the Immigration Minister to amend the Fees Regulations at the next opportunity to ensure that people previously discriminated against do not have to pay an application fee a second time. The Committee looks forward to receiving an update on progress to address this issue.
Cost of fees for Children
41.Fees for children entitled to British nationality to register as British are very expensive. During parliamentary debates when the BNA was introduced, debate focussed on fees for registration not being at a deterrent level.29 However, notwithstanding the original intention that the fees should not be seeking to raise revenue from children with a right to British nationality, these fees are now well above cost recovery.30 This means that children from more disadvantaged backgrounds, and children in local authority care who are less likely to be able to afford the fees are more likely to be disadvantaged by the fee level impeding their ability to register as British nationals. We share the concerns on this expressed by the House of Lords Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement.31 Moreover, we are concerned that a child’s access to her or his right to British nationality depends on whether or not their parents (or primary carer) knows of the need to register and can afford to register that child.
42.Local authorities should ensure that children in their care with an entitlement to British citizenship (whether or not they have another citizenship) should be registered as British to ensure they maintain their status and rights upon leaving care.
43.Home Office fees for children who have a right to be British should be proportionate to the service being offered and should be priced at a rate that is accessible for children accessing their rights. This is not the case at the moment since fees for children are three times more than the cost of the service—four-figure fees merely to register an existing right to be British are unacceptable. Disproportionately high fees should not exclude children from more vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds from accessing their rights.
28 Letter from Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP, Minister of State for Immigration, to Chair, regarding British Nationality Act 1981 (Remedial) Order 2019 Fees for Repeat Nationality Applications, dated 25 June 2019
29 See for example, Hansard HC, British Nationality Bill, Standing Committee F, 12 May 1981, col 1883–1884: “We do not wish to deter applicants by setting the fees at a totally impossible level.
30 This is set out in the 2019 Report by the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration which makes clear that the average processing cost is £372, whereas the Home Office charge children £1012 for the application (see paras 7.4–7.9 of the Report)
31 See for example the Recommendation at paragraph 492 of the House of Lords, Select Committee on Citizenship and Civil Engagement, The Ties that Bind: Citizenship and Civic Engagement in the 21st Century Contents, Session 2017–19, HL Paper 118
Published: 9 July 2019