On Thursday 19th December the High Court ruled that the government's decision to charge £1,012 to register children as UK citizens was "unlawful". The fee applies to children born outside the UK, and those born in the UK before their parents were granted citizenship or settled status.
Young people currently face a £1,012 registration fee before they can formally become British citizens - despite applications costing the Home Office £372 to process.
Fees have risen since 2011, and the cost of registering two children has more than tripled due to fee increases and the abolition of second child discounts.
The last increase resulted in the charge increasing from £973 to the current £1,012 fee in April 2018.
Delivering the ruling judge Mr Justice Jay said the Home Office "failed to have regard to the best interests" of children affected.
The department said it will consider the ruling's implications "carefully."
Mr Justice Jay said the evidence during the hearing had shown that "for a substantial number of children, a fee of £1,012 is simply unaffordable". He said this made the children affected "feel alienated, excluded, isolated, second-best, insecure and not fully assimilated into the culture and social fabric of the UK"
The case was brought on behalf of two children by campaign group the Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens (PRCBC).
Both children - identified only as O, aged 12, and A, aged three - were born in the UK and have lived there their entire lives.
The judge also gave the Home Office permission to appeal against his ruling.
The high court case has been ongoing since November. Earlier in the trial, lawyers representing the Home Office stressed that the entitlement to UK citizenship has always been conditional based upon the payment of application fees.
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.
