Immigration Corner | How to get a UK citizenship application fee waiver

Dear Mr Bassie,

I am not yet 18 years old, and I plan to apply for my British citizenship. I am being informed that I may be able to receive a waiver for fees. Please advise whether this is in fact so.

ME

Dear ME,

Persons can apply for a fee waiver, so they do not have to pay a citizenship application fee. If applying online for a fee waiver, they must get their decision before applying for citizenship.

If applying and persons are 18 years before receiving a decision on the fee waiver application, those persons can still apply for citizenship as a child and will still get a fee waiver, if eligible for it.

ELIGIBILITY

Persons can apply for a fee waiver if they are under 18 years old and are eligible for British citizenship.

They can become a British citizen if one of their parents considered the UK as their home and did any of the following after they were born:

• Became a British citizen;

• Obtained indefinite leave to remain in the UK;

• Obtained ‘settled status’ (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’);

• Obtained indefinite leave to enter the UK;

• Obtained permanent residence status.

Persons can apply for a fee waiver if they and their parents or guardians cannot pay the fee because:

• They do not have a place to live and cannot afford one;

• They are unable to afford essential living costs, like food and heating;

• They do not have enough money to pay the fee after paying for their accommodation and other essential living costs;

• Paying the fee would mean a child’s needs cannot be met.

Please note that there is more information in the ‘affordability’ section of ‘The guidance on how the Home Office will process your fee waiver application’. This can be found online.

Parents or legal guardians can apply on the applicants’ behalf. They can also include their other children in the same application.

Persons should not apply for a fee waiver if a local authority is looking after them. Instead, they should provide evidence of this when applying for citizenship. If successful, the application will be free.

APPLYING FOR A FEE WAIVER

Persons can either apply online or by post. If applying from Guernsey or Jersey they must apply by post. They cannot currently apply for this fee waiver from the Isle of Man.

If applying for a fee waiver online and are successful, persons must also then apply for citizenship online. If they cannot apply for both online, they must apply by post instead. When applying by post, persons must fill in a child citizenship fee waiver request form and send it to the address on the form.

APPLY ONLINE

Persons will be able to save their form and return to it later. Before starting, they will be asked to prove their identity by uploading a copy of their identity document online, for example a:

• Passport;

• National identity card;

• Biometric residence permit.

They will also need to provide information about their financial situation, for example:

• Bank statements;

• Letters from local authorities or family members showing they get financial support;

• Evidence to show they get public funds;

• Evidence of household earnings, for example, payslips;

• Evidence of household expenses, for example, how much rent the applicant pays.

After applying, they will get a confirmation email from the Home Office once they have applied. If the application is approved, they will then receive an email or letter with a personalised code (called a ‘token’). Persons should use this code in their citizenship application.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practices law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, the global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com