Statutory Instruments
2007 No. 1158

Immigration
nationality
The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2007

Made
1st April 2007

Coming into force
2nd April 2007

A draft of these Regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament, in pursuance of section 42(7) of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004(1);
The Secretary of State makes the following regulations with the consent of the Treasury in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 51(3) and 52(3) of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006(2), and in reliance on section 42(1) of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004;

In accordance with section 42(6) of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004, the Secretary of State has consulted with such persons as appear to him to be appropriate prior to making these Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2007 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which they were made.

2.  In these Regulations—

“an application for naturalisation” means an application for naturalisation as a:

(a)
British citizen under section 6(1) or (2) of the 1981 Act, or

(b)
British overseas territories citizen under section 18(1) or (2) of the 1981 Act;

“an application for registration” means an application for registration as a:

(a)
British citizen under section 1(3) or (4), 3(1), (2)(3) or (5)(4), 4(2) or (5), 4A(5), 4B(6), 4C(7), 10(1)(8) or (2)(9), or 13(1) or (3) of, or paragraph 3(10), 4(11) or 5 of Schedule 2 to, the 1981 Act,

(b)
British overseas territories citizen under sections 24 and 13(1) or (3), or 15(3) or (4), 17(1), (2) or (5), or 22(1) or (2) of, or paragraph 3, 4 or 5 of Schedule 2 to, the 1981 Act,

(c)
British overseas citizen under section 27(1) of, or paragraph 4 or 5 of Schedule 2 to, the 1981 Act, or

(d)
British subject under section 32 of, or paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to, the 1981 Act;

“assistance” means assistance, accommodation or maintenance provided under—

(a)
section 17, 20 or 23 of the Children Act 1989(12),

(b)
section 22, 25 or 26 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995(13), or

(c)
article 18, 21 or 27 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(14);

“claim for asylum” has the meaning given in section 94(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999(15), and a claim for asylum is to be taken to be determined—

(a)
on the day on which the Secretary of State notifies the claimant of his decision on the claim,

(b)
if the claimant has appealed against the Secretary of State’s decision, on the day on which the appeal is disposed of, or

(c)
if the claimant has brought an in-country appeal against an immigration decision under section 82 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002(16) or section 2 of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997(17), on the day on which the appeal is disposed of;

“child” means a person under the age of eighteen;

“dependant” in respect of a person means—

(a)
the spouse, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner, or

(b)
a child,

of that person;

“European Community Association Agreement” means the—

(a)
Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and Turkey, signed at Ankara on 12 September 1963,

(b)
Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Bulgaria, of the other part, signed at Brussels on 8th March 1993, and

(c)
Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Romania, of the other part, signed at Brussels on 1st February 1993;

“Highly Skilled Migrant Programme” means the programme operated by the Secretary of State for highly skilled migrants under the immigration rules;

“immigration rules” means rules made under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971(18);

“leave to remain” includes variation of leave to enter or remain;

“school teacher” has the same meaning as in section 122 of the Education Act 2002(19);

“the 1981 Act” means the British Nationality Act 1981(20);

“the 2007 Order” means the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2007(21); and

“unmarried or same sex partner” of a person means a person who is living with that other person in a relationship akin to marriage which has subsisted for two years or more.

Fees for applications for leave in the United Kingdom

3.—(1) In the case of an application to which article 3(2)(a) or (b) of the 2007 Order applies, where the application is for limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom—

(a)for work permit employment;

(b)for the purposes of employment under the Sectors-Based Scheme;

(c)for Home Office approved training; or

(d)as a seasonal agricultural worker,

under the immigration rules, the fee is that specified in paragraph (2).

(2) The fee is—

(a)£550 for an application made in person at the relevant Public Enquiry Office of the Border and Immigration Agency of the Home Office; or

(b)£350 for an application made by post or courier.

(3) This regulation is subject to regulations 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14.

4.—(1) In the case of an application to which article 3(2)(a) or (b) of the 2007 Order applies, where the application is for limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a highly skilled migrant under the immigration rules, the fee is £350.

(2) This regulation is subject to regulations 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14.

5.—(1) In the case of an application to which article 3(2)(a) or (b) of the 2007 Order applies, where the application is for a limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom as—

(a)a person intending to establish himself in business;

(b)an innovator;

(c)an investor;

(d)a retired person of independent means; or

(e)a sole representative,

under the immigration rules, the fee is £750.

(2) This regulation is subject to regulations 10, 12, 13 and 14.

6.—(1) In the case of an application to which article 3(2)(a) or (b) of the 2007 Order applies, where the application is for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom, the fee is—

(a)£950 for an application made in person at a Public Enquiry Office of the Border and Immigration Agency of the Home Office; or

(b)£750 for an application made by post or courier.

(2) This regulation is subject to regulations 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14.

Exceptions in respect of fees for leave to remain applications

7.  No fee is payable in connection with an application for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom, which is made on the basis that the applicant is—

(a)a person making a claim for asylum which has not been determined or has been granted;

(b)a person who has been granted humanitarian protection under the immigration rules;

(c)a person who has been granted limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom outside the provisions of the immigration rules on the rejection of their claim for asylum; or

(d)a dependant of a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

8.  No fee is payable in connection with an application referred to in regulation 6, where the application is for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a victim of domestic violence under the immigration rules, where at the time of making the application, the applicant appears to the Secretary of State to be destitute.

9.  No fee is payable in respect of applications referred to in regulation 3, 4 or, insofar as the application is made for work permit employment or as a highly skilled migrant under the immigration rules, 6, where the application is made in respect of a person who is a national of a state which has ratified the Council of Europe Social Charter(22) or the Council of Europe Revised Social Charter(23).

10.  No fee is payable in respect of applications referred to in regulation 3, 4 or 5, if the application is made in respect of a person seeking variation of leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for a period of up to 6 months where the application is made to an immigration officer on arrival at a port of entry in the United Kingdom.

11.  No fee is payable in respect of an application referred to in regulation 6 if the application is made in respect of a person who, at the time of making the application, is a child and is being provided with assistance by a local authority (or, in Northern Ireland, an authority, which has the same meaning given in article 2(2) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995).

12.  No fee is payable in respect of an application referred to in regulation 3, 4, 5 or 6 if it is made under the terms of a European Community Association Agreement.

13.—(1) If the conditions specified in paragraph (2) are met, a single fee is payable in connection with the applications made.

(2) The conditions are—

(a)an application is made by an applicant (A) for limited or indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom; and

(b)at the same time A makes a similar application on behalf of one or more of his dependants, in circumstances where such persons are applying as dependants of A.

(3) The fee payable shall be the fee specified for the application in respect of A.

14.  Where two or more applications for leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom are made at the same time, or are being considered by the Secretary of State, in respect of the same person and fees are specified in respect of those applications, a single fee shall be payable that being the higher, or as the case may be, the highest of the fees specified in respect of those applications where those fees are different.

Fees for immigration employment documents

15.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and regulations 16 and 18, in the case of an application to which article 3(2)(d) of the 2007 Order applies, namely an application for an immigration employment document, other than where the application is made in respect of a person who is seeking to enter, or remain in, the United Kingdom—

(a)under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme; or

(b)as a seasonal agricultural worker;

under the immigration rules, the fee is £190.

(2) No fee is payable in respect of an application for an immigration employment document which is made in respect of a person seeking to enter, or remain in, the United Kingdom as a school teacher employed in England.

16.—(1) Subject to regulation 18, where an application for an immigration employment document is made by a single employer in respect of a number of persons who form a group, each of whom is seeking leave to enter, or remain in, the United Kingdom as a person to whom paragraph (2) applies, a single fee is payable in respect of that application.

(2) This paragraph applies to a person who is seeking to enter, or remain in, the United Kingdom—

(a)as a person employed by a ballet or other dance group, theatre group, circus troupe, or orchestra or other group of musicians, and

(b)for the purpose of fulfilling a contractual obligation to perform in the United Kingdom.

17.  Subject to regulation 18, in the case of an application to which article 3(2)(d) of the 2007 Order applies, namely an application for an immigration employment document, where the application is made in respect of a person seeking to enter, or remain in, the United Kingdom under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, the fee is £400.

18.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), an application for an immigration employment document need not be accompanied by a fee if it is made in respect of a person who is a national of a state which has ratified the Council of Europe Social Charter or the Council of Europe Revised Social Charter.

(2) Paragraph (1) will only except an application referred to in regulation 16 from the requirement that it be accompanied by a fee if every person in respect of whom the application is made is a person to whom that regulation applies.

Fees for nationality applications

19.—(1) In the case of an application to which article 3(2)(f) or (g) of the 2007 Order applies, namely an application for naturalisation, the fee is £575.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), where either a husband and wife, or two people who are civil partners of each other, apply at the same time for naturalisation as British citizens or British overseas territories citizens and at the time of the applications are residing together, the total fee payable in respect of those applications shall be the same as that for a single application.

(3) Paragraph (2) does not apply to any fee which is payable in respect of the arrangement of a citizenship ceremony.

20.—(1) In the case of an application to which article 3(2)(h) to (k) of the 2007 Order applies, namely an application for registration, the fee to be paid is £400.

(2) Where an application for registration of a child is made at the same time as an application for registration of another child and those children have the same parent, or parents, the total fee payable in respect of the applications shall be the same as that for a single application.

(3) In this regulation, “parent” includes a step-parent and an adoptive parent.

Consequences of failing to pay the specified fee

21.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where an application to which these Regulations refer is to be accompanied by a specified fee, the application will not be considered to have been validly made unless it has been accompanied by that fee.

(2) An application referred to in Regulations 3, 4, 5 or 6, which is made prior to 21st May 2007, will be treated as having been validly made regardless of whether the fee specified in respect of that application has been paid.

(3) The Secretary of State may treat an application referred to in paragraph (2) as withdrawn if, having written to inform the person who made the application that the specified fee has not been provided, that fee is not provided within 28 days of the letter having been posted.

Liam Byrne
Minister of State
Home Office
1st April 2007

We consent

Claire Ward
Kevin Brennan
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury
29th March 2007

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Secretary of State specified in the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/807), those matters in connection with immigration or nationality in respect of which he was going to charge a fee. These Regulations specify a fee for certain of those matters and also set out the relevant exceptions. These Regulations also set out the consequences of failing to pay those specified fees. The fees for the other matters specified in that Order will be specified in other Regulations made under section 51(3) of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

The Secretary of State in prescribing a fee for the applications referred to in these Regulations has, relying on section 42(1) of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004, prescribed an amount which is intended to exceed the administrative cost of determining the application and reflects benefits that he thinks are likely to accrue to the person who makes the application or to whom the application relates, if the application is successful.

The Secretary of State has in these Regulations specified fees for the following types of applications for leave to remain in the United Kingdom:

(a)Limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom:

(i)for work permit employment;

(ii)for the purposes of employment under the Sectors-Based Scheme;

(iii)for Home Office approved training or work experience; or

(iv)as a seasonal agricultural worker,

under the immigration rules (regulation 3).
(b)Limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a highly skilled migrant under the immigration rules (regulation 4).
(c)Limited leave to remain as:

(i)a person seeking to establish himself in business;

(ii)an innovator;

(iii)an investor;

(iv)a retired person of independent means; or

(v)a sole representative,

under the immigration rules (regulation 5).
(d)Indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom other than an application referred to in regulation 7, (regulation 6).
Regulations 7 to 14 provide a number of exceptions to the requirement to pay a specified fee.

The fee for an application for an immigration employment document made in respect of a person seeking to enter, or remain in, the United Kingdom under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme is set out in regulation 17.

The fee for all other applications for an immigration employment document, other than in respect of persons seeking leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom as a seasonal agricultural worker under the immigration rules or as a school teacher employed in England is set out in regulation 15.

Such applications need not be accompanied by a specified fee if they are made in respect of a person who is a national of a state which has ratified the Council of Europe Social Charter or the Council of Europe Revised Social Charter.

The fee for an application for naturalisation as a British citizen or British overseas territories citizen is set out in regulation 19.

The fees for an application for registration as a British citizen, British overseas territories citizen, British overseas citizen or British subject are set out in regulation 20.

By virtue of regulations 19(2) and 20(2), the total fee payable in respect of certain multiple applications for registration or naturalisation is the same as that for a single application.

By virtue of regulation 21, an application referred to in these Regulations will not be considered to be validly made unless it is accompanied by the specified fee. However in respect of leave to remain applications, made before 21st May 2007 where such an application is not accompanied by that fee, the Secretary of State will write to the applicant to inform them that they need to pay that fee. If the fee is not paid within 28 days of that letter being posted, the application will be treated as invalid.

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the BIA website: www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk. Alternatively please contact Steve Birtwistle, BIA Charging policy, W8D, Moorfoot, Sheffield, S3 8WA. In addition, it is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website.

(1)
2004 c. 19.

(2)
2006. c. 13.

(3)
Amended by section 5 of, and paragraphs 3(1) and (2) of Schedule 1 to, the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, c. 8.

(4)
Amended by section 5 of, and paragraphs 3(1) and (4) of Schedule 1 to, the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, c. 8.

(5)
Inserted by section 4 of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, c. 8.

(6)
Inserted by section 12 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, c. 41.

(7)
Inserted by section 13 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, c. 41.

(8)
Amended by sections 5(a) and 161 of, and Schedule 9 to, the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, c. 41.

(9)
Amended by sections 5(a) and 161 of, and Schedule 9 to, the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, c. 41 and by section 261(1) of, and paragraph 73 of Schedule 27 to, the Civil Partnership Act 2004, c. 33.

(10)
Amended by section 1(1)(b) of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, c. 8 and by sections 8 and 161 of, and Schedule 9 to, the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, c. 41.

(11)
Amended by sections 1(1)(b) and 2(2)(b) of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, c. 8.

(12)
1989 c. 41.

(13)
1995 c. 36.

(14)
S.I. 1995/755 (N.I. 2.).

(15)
1999 c. 33.

(16)
2002 c. 41.

(17)
1997 c. 68.

(18)
1971 c. 77.

(19)
2002 c. 32.

(20)
1981 c. 61.

(21)
S.I. 2007/807

(22)
Signed in Turin on 18th October 1961 (CETS NO.: 035).

(23)
Signed in Strasbourg on 3rd May 1996 (CETS NO.: 163).