Press Story

Home Office charges £1,709 for naturalisation applications it estimates cost £324 to process - three times the next highest fee in the G7
Think tank calls for cheaper pathways to citizenship, alongside a new citizenship course and test to encourage volunteering and community involvement
Former home secretary David Blunkett backs IPPR’s call for citizenship reform to strengthen integration and social cohesion

People applying to become British citizens are charged more than five times the amount it costs the Home Office to process their application, according to new analysis from IPPR.

The £1,709 naturalisation fee compares with an estimated administrative cost of just £324. Applicants must also pay a further £130 for a citizenship ceremony if successful, taking the total cost of becoming a British citizen to £1,839.

The UK also charges considerably more than other G7 countries. Its £1,709 application fee is more than three times the next highest – the United States at £562.

IPPR warns that these costs can put citizenship out of reach for long-term residents, leaving some people who have built their lives in Britain outside full participation in political and civic life. At the same time, the authors argue that the citizenship process itself does too little to encourage civic participation or build a shared sense of belonging.

The think tank calls for Britain to rely less on transitory migration and instead build a system geared towards settlement, integration and citizenship. While governments have the right to decide who comes to the UK, migrants should be viewed as potential citizens, with a clear route to membership for those who stay.

The report includes a foreword from former home secretary David Blunkett, who calls the research ‘an important contribution to the debate about how we take forward immigration policy, citizenship and social cohesion.’

Drawing on his experience commissioning earlier reforms to citizenship, he argues that ‘The way forward on citizenship is through collaboration rather than conflict; through positive dialogue and engagement rather than alienation and division.’

The report argues that the citizenship system should also do more to support participation, contribution and belonging. It highlights that argues that the current Life in the UK test has become an exercise in memorising arbitrary facts, rather than preparing new citizens to take part in public life. Authors suggest replacing the test with a citizenship course and test focused on everyday life, UK institutions and shared values, with a practical volunteering element to encourage participation in local communities.

IPPR is calling for reforms to make citizenship both more accessible and more meaningful, including:

Bringing citizenship fees much closer to administrative costs, with fee reductions funded through employers’ sponsorship contributions
Creating clearer pathways for long-term residents, with the wait for settlement generally set at five years and no more than 10 years
Replacing the Life in the UK test with a new citizenship course and test, focused on community life, UK institutions, shared values and practical civic participation.

Marley Morris, associate director for migration, trade and communities at IPPR and author of the report, said:

“A fair society should view new migrants as potential citizens and actively encourage people to commit to their new home. Yet the act of getting citizenship is a largely bureaucratic process that is priced out of reach for many.

“If we want long-term residents to be included in our common life, there should be a clear and affordable route to becoming British.

“The citizenship process should also be meaningfully connected to civic life and national values. A new citizenship course and a revised test could help aspiring citizens play an active part in the country they call home.”

ENDS

Marley Morris is available for interview

CONTACT

Rosie Okumbe, senior digital and media officer: 07825 185421 r.okumbe@ippr.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

The IPPR paper, From strangers to citizens: Membership and belonging in an age of migration, by Marley Morris and Muneera Lula, will be published at 00:01 on 10 September. It will be available for download at http://www.ippr.org/publications/from-strangers-to-citizens

Advance copies of the report are available under embargo on request

Citizenship costs are based on core fees for standard routes for adult naturalisation, converted into British pounds.

For the UK, the estimated £324 processing cost is taken from Home Office visa fees transparency data, last updated on 17 July 2026.

Note that in the UK, there is an additional £130 fee for the citizenship ceremony.

IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research) is the UK’s most influential think tank, with alumni in Downing Street, the cabinet and parliament. We are the practical ideas factory behind many of the current government’s flagship policies, including changes to fiscal rules, the creation of a National Wealth Fund, GB Energy, devolution, and reforms to the NHS. As an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society, we have spent almost 40 years creating tangible progressive change - turning bold ideas into common sense realities. www.ippr.org