R (Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens) v SSHD
countries.2 Until recently, there was no provision for waiver or variation of the fee
requirement.3
This requirement to pay a fee when a child wishes to seek registration as a
British citizen, whatever the circumstances, has been the subject of a series of
judicial decisions in recent years,4 culminating in that of the United Kingdom
Supreme Court examined herein.5
LITIGATION PRIOR TO THE JUDGMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT
In R (Williams) v SSHD [2017] EWCA Civ 98 (‘R (Williams)’), the Court of
Appeal considered the appeal of a child who was, at the time of the application,
destitute and supported by the local authority and had failed in seeking judicial
review of a decision refusing his application for registration under BNA 1981 s
1(4) on two grounds. First, that failure to pay the fee (then £672) rendered the
application invalid and second, that there was no statutory discretion to waive or
reduce the fee. The case failed, essentially for the following reasons:
(i) The statutory scheme clearly indicated that an application made without the
fee would be invalid;6
(ii) The right to acquire citizenship by registration was not a fundamental or
constitutional right above and beyond its creation by the legislature through
statute. The requirement for payment of an application fee unaffordable to
some potential applicants as a condition of validity was not ultra vires the
enabling statute;7
(iii) The refusal to grant citizenship by registration, notwithstanding failure to
pay the fee and so make a valid application, did not of itself breach art 8 of
the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (‘ECHR’). A child could be protected by the grant
of leave to remain in relation to which fee waiver provisions existed.
Moreover, there was no prospect of the child being removed from the UK
2
3
4
5
6
7
According to the European Network on Statelessness, the equivalent fee is nil in Norway, €55
in France and €255 in Germany, which is reducible to €51 on the ground of ‘equity or public
interest’: ‘UK Supreme Court Finds that Setting High Fees for Registration of Children as
British Citizens is Not Unlawful’, European Network on Statelessness (Blog Post, 3
February 2022) <https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/news/uk-supreme-court-finds-settinghigh-fees-registration-children-british-citizens-not>, archived at <https://perma.cc/WNQ4KSPU>. The fee for registration of a child as a British citizen is also much higher relative to
the equivalent fee for adults than in some other countries. For instance, the equivalent fees for
child and adult nationality applications in Canada are CAD100 and CAD630 respectively:
‘Pay Your Application Fees Online’, Government of Canada (Web Page, 2 August 2022)
<https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/epay/order.do?category=1>, archived at , <https://perma.cc/
GA8X-Q4G8>.
See Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (UK) reg 2, brought
into effect from 16 June 2022 by reg 1(2), amending the Immigration (Fees) Regulations 2018
(UK). The effect of this is set out later in Part III of this case note.
The cases are R (Williams) v SSHD [2015] EWHC 1268 (Admin), on appeal R (Williams) v
SSHD [2017] EWCA Civ 98; [2017] 1 WLR 3283 (‘Williams CA’), and then successively R
(Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens) v SSHD; O v SSHD [2019]
EWHC 3536 (Admin) (‘PRCBC HC’); R (Project for the Registration of Children as British
Citizens) v SSHD; O v SSHD [2021] EWCA Civ 193 (‘PRCBC CA’) and the decision that is
the subject of this case note.
R (Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens & Ors) v Secretary of State for
the Home Department [2022] UKSC 3; [2022] 2 WLR 343 (‘PRCBC SC’).
Williams CA (n 5) [37]–[41].
ibid [42]–[45].
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