Summary
Institute of Public Policy The government should develop a system for settlement, integration and citizenship, research says
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank says the UK citizenship system needs changing, claiming high application fees and a limited focus on civic participation make it hard for long-term residents to access citizenship and can make citizenship less meaningful, in a report published yesterday.
Download the report here (28 pages).
UK Citizenship Fees
The report indicates, and the media coverage of the report highlighted, that the Home Office charges £1,709 for a basic naturalisation application, but estimates its administrative cost of processing an application at only £324.
Successful applicants must pay an additional £130 for a citizenship ceremony, and the total fee will be £1,839.
Analysis by the IPPR shows the UK’s naturalisation fee is by far the highest of any G7 nation.
The next highest charge is in the US at the equivalent of £562, while France, Germany and Italy charge roughly £200.
There is no application fee for normal adult naturalisation in Japan.
Calls for Lower Citizenship Fees
The high expense can be a barrier to British citizenship for certain long-term residents, leaving people who have made their homes in the UK without full membership of the political and civic society.
The current approach, IPPR notes, thereby risks generating a rising population of residents who are not citizens despite living in the nation for many years.
IPPR advises reducing the fees for citizenship to a level that is much closer to the cost of processing applications.
It says: “The cost of citizenship should consequently be considerably decreased and reorganised to more accurately reflect administrative cost. In example, costs for children’s citizenship should reflect their unit cost (£324) – such levies should not be a money spinner. The government should also provide fee waivers to those who are destitute or at risk of destitution and cannot otherwise afford to settle or become citizens. (At the moment there are fee waivers for some immigration routes and for child citizenship petitions, but not for settlement and citizenship in general.) Some of the cost of fee reductions could be met by increasing the cost to employers of certificates of sponsorship (currently £525 per certificate). “This would move costs to admission of entry rather than settlement or citizenship, in line with the principles we have set out in this report.”
Clearer Routes to Settlement and Citizenship
The report also demands greater clarity and consistency in the pathways from long-term residence to settlement and citizenship.
It advises that eligibility for settlement should in principle be acquired after five years, and that the maximum waiting time should be 10 years.
The IPPR also recommends that children born in the UK should be entitled to seek for citizenship after five years of living in the UK, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Life in the UK Test and Citizenship Education
IPPR argues the process needs to do more to encourage integration and civic participation, alongside making citizenship more accessible.
It believes that the current Life in the UK test is too focused on the rote learning of obscure factual material and does not adequately prepare applicants for involvement in British public and community life.
A think tank wants it replaced by a citizenship course and a new test that includes topics on ordinary living, UK institutions, the political and legal system and shared values.
There would also be a practical volunteering element, designed to inspire applicants to engage with their local communities.
More generally, IPPR suggests that government should take a more active role in promoting citizenship, rather than leaving it to individual choice.
David Blunkett’s Citizenship Reform Views
It says: “In the past, governments have sometimes been reluctant to promote the idea of citizenship, seeing it as a question of personal choice. We believe that’s a mistake. A quicker process would be better for individuals prepared to become citizens and conform to the norms and values of the community, rather than those simply trying to gain ILR. Instead of waiting an extra year after getting ILR before they may apply for citizenship, as is the case under the existing system, persons wanting to become citizens should be able to apply one year earlier those simply applying for ILR. Long term residence should not be conditional on citizenship. There are solid reasons why some people will not wish to become citizens, particularly if they are nationals of countries where dual citizenship is not permitted. But the government should not be neutral on the topic of citizenship either, given the dangers of significant numbers of residents living in the UK but sitting outside the political community.”
The study is preceded by a foreword from former Home Secretary David Blunkett.
Its ideas reflected reforms he had already commissioned on citizenship education and pathways to citizenship, he added.
The process should be more about people demonstrating their dedication and service to their communities, especially through English language and citizenship classes, he said.
Blunkett also called on the government to bring up planned improvements to citizenship education in schools and suggested that anyone entering the UK through permitted visa or resettlement pathways should be expected to do English-language training.
He said the debate on settlement and citizenship should be one of “collaboration rather than conflict” with a clearer road to citizenship for individuals who can demonstrate their commitment to British society.