Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the reasons are for the disparity between the application cost and the administration cost of applications for child citizenship.

The Home Office sets fees at a level that helps provide resources necessary to operate the Border, Immigration and Citizenship (BIC) system.

The Immigration Act 2014 is the primary legislation which gives them statutory powers to set fees. The relevant sections of the Act relating to fees are 68 to 70 which can be found on pages 58 to 61 of the following link:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/22/pdfs/ukpga_20140022_en.pdf

Section 68(9) states:

(9) In setting the amount of any fee, or rate or other factor, in fees regulations, the Secretary of State may have regard only to:-

(a) the costs of exercising the function;

(b) benefits that the Secretary of State thinks are likely to accrue to any person in connection with the exercise of the function;

(c) the costs of exercising any other function in connection with immigration or nationality;

(d) the promotion of economic growth;

(e) fees charged by or on behalf of governments of other countries in respect of comparable functions; and

(f) any international agreement

We set fees to reflect the wider benefits an individual will receive from a successful application and do not limit fees to the cost of processing an application also. This was a fundamental principle underpinning the fees measures in the Immigration Act 2014, as debated and approved by Parliament.

Working within strict financial limits agreed with HM Treasury and Parliament, application fees are set by taking into account general policy objectives to ensure that fees are fair to customers, and that the Home Office can continue to offer a good level of service.

To ensure that the system is fair and equitable, the Home office believe it is reasonable that those who use and benefit directly from the BIC system make an appropriate contribution towards meeting the associated costs.

Application fees have increased in recent years to help support the Home

Office ambition to reduce the overall level of funding that comes from general taxation, by reducing costs and increasing the proportion which is funded by income generated from fees, therefore reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.

The principle of charging at above cost for immigration and nationality fees was first approved by Parliament in 2004.

The additional income from above cost fees is used to help fund and maintain effective wider immigration system functions, and to ensure the Home Office can set some fees at below cost, where this supports the UK economy (Short-term visit visas), or is otherwise required by international agreement (EEA fees). And it also enables the Department to waive fees in certain individual circumstances, for example where people are destitute and need to access their Human Rights, for example their right to a family life.