33. Despite various provisions in UK law which aim to prevent childhood statelessness, as
discussed in Mapping Statelessness, some children born stateless or at risk of statelessness in
the UK remain stateless or undocumented.70 Application fees have become one of the chief
impediments preventing children with few financial resources from exercising their
entitlement to British nationality. The fees to apply to register as a British citizen are £936
(children) and £1,121 (adult); and adult naturalisation applications cost £1,236.71 There is no
exemption or fee reduction for stateless persons. In addition, acquiring the necessary
evidence may be complex and costly, and the law is not straightforward or accessible to lay
persons. Other barriers to acquisition of British citizenship include:
application of the good character test for children age 10 or over (applied in the same
way for children as for adults);
poor decision making and poor application of discretion by the Home Office;
poor Home Office guidance;
Home Office failure to properly consider Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and
Immigration Act 200972 (requiring the Government to ‘safeguard and promote the
welfare of children’ in exercising immigration, asylum, or nationality functions); and
the Government’s failure to fully comply with obligations under the CRC to consider
the best interests of children73 and/or the right to private and family life under ECHR
Article 8.74
The absence of legal aid for advice and assistance in registration applications exacerbates
these barriers. If refused registration, there is no legal aid to apply for an internal Home Office
review, and a £272 review fee applies.
34. Finally, in contravention of the 1954 Convention, Article 32, the UK has no expedited
registration or naturalisation procedure for stateless persons, although the Government can,
under current law, exercise its discretion to expedite these processes.75
Conclusion and recommendations
35. The co-submitting organisations acknowledge positive steps taken by the UK but observe that
challenges remain in ensuring that the UK’s laws, policies and practices relating to
statelessness and nationality comply fully with international law. Consequently, we propose
the following recommendations:
I.
Departures from the 1954 Convention
70
Mapping Statelessness (note 1) 137.
For the full fee schedule, see Home Office, ‘Fees with effect from 18 March 2016 for citizenship applications
and the right of abode’,
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/507609/Master_Fees_Leafle
t_2016_03_08_v0_3.pdf.
72
(2009 Chapter 11) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/11/section/55.
73
In November 2008, the Secretary of State withdrew her reservation to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of
the Child concerning immigration and citizenship. At least from that time, the Secretary of State has been
bound under Article 3 to ensure primary consideration is given to the best interests of the child in exercising
her nationality functions.
74
Under ECHR, Article 8, the Secretary of State is obligated to ensure that in exercising her nationality
functions she does not disproportionately interfere with the right to respect for private and family life.
75
See BNA Section 6(1) and Schedule 1.
71
14