Breytenbachs have good news for persons whose children need to register for British child citizenship.
At present, the Home Office charges a hefty £1,012 for a child to register for British citizenship. However, the administrative cost of the process is only £372. The Home Office previously very controversially said that they use this profit to fund other work areas.
However, the Home Office will now have to review this fee to register a child as a British citizen.
Court ruling on the fee
The matter of the hefty fees for child citizenship was taken to court by the Project for the Registration of Children as British citizens. In December 2019, a high court judge ruled that the high fee was unlawful and prevented children from being registered for citizenship.
The Home Office subsequently appealed the matter. On 18 February 2021, The Court of Appeal upheld the previous ruling that the Home Office had failed to assess children’s best interest when they determined this fee.
The court said that it was “difficult to see how the fee could be afforded at all”. The high court also said it prevented many children from registering.
Response from the Home Office
The Home Office said that they acknowledge the ruling by the Court of Appeal. They also said that they would review the child citizenship registration fees in due course.
Breytenbachs will update clients as soon as we receive more information on the adjusted fee.
Unfortunately, until we receive positive news on the reduced fee, the application fee will remain £1,012.
How Breytenbachs can help you
If you want to find out more about how you can register your child for British citizenship, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have a team of consultants who specialise in British citizenship matters, who will be happy to assist.
