MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2019) The United Kingdom High Court on Tuesday heard a case brought against the Home Office that claimed that the excessively high fees the government charged for children to register as UK citizens effectively prevented them from receiving citizenship, according to reports.
An organization called The Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens (PRCBC) brought the Home Office to court over what they called exorbitant administrative fees, even for children born in the UK, The Guardian reported.
The PRCBC alleged that that the Home Office makes a significant profit on citizenship applications. Lawyers representing the organization argued in the High Court that the Home Office charged a 1,012-pound ($1,300) registration fee for an application that cost just 372 Pounds to process.
"The children we are talking about are not migrants, they do not have immigration problems. They were given statutory rights to register as citizens," PRCBC Director Solange Valdez-Symonds said before the hearing, as quoted by the UK newspaper.
The High Court heard testimony from UK-born children who have never even left the country, but remain in administrative limbo and are unable to afford the high fees required to gain citizenship.
In response to PRCBC's case, the Home Office reiterated that UK citizenship could only be achieved by payment of the relevant administrative fees.
The entitlement to UK citizenship was "conditional upon payment of a fee and always has been - it is not an unconditional statutory right," Sir James Eadie, who is representing the Home Office, argued, as quoted by the newspaper.
The PRCBC raises awareness and supports children and young adults in achieving UK citizenship. The organization lists its aims as promoting social inclusion for the public benefit, preventing and relieving poverty, and the advancement of education.
