Kenyans pursuing British citizenship are paying dramatically more than what the process actually costs the UK government to administer, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a left-leaning British think tank.
The report found that the current application fee of £1,709 (approximately KSh 298,000) is more than five times the Home Office’s estimated administrative cost of £324 (about KSh 56,000) for processing each application.
Successful applicants must also pay an additional £130 (roughly KSh 22,700) for a citizenship ceremony, bringing the total to £1,839 (around KSh 321,000).
UK citizenship among most expensive in the G7
The UK’s charges far exceed those of comparable nations. Its £1,709 application fee is more than three times the next highest in the G7, the United States, which charges the equivalent of £562.
For many Kenyans, the financial pressure begins well before reaching the citizenship stage, given that visa fees and a mandatory annual immigration health charge of £1,035 (about KSh 171,000) per person accumulate over years.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, refugee and migration rights policy lead at Amnesty International, argued that successive governments had deliberately transferred the operational costs of the immigration system onto migrants themselves.
“Successive governments have charged these increasingly high fees for the purpose of passing the cost of the UK’s immigration system from the taxpayer on to migrant people — this includes the cost of the system’s errors and delays,” he said.
“But governments are increasing the burden upon people seeking to make their new lives in the UK, people who already pay taxes and may have also paid solicitors and court fees too.”
Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, noted that citizenship had historically been promoted as evidence of successful integration, but warned that escalating fees risk “putting this out of reach for refugees.”
Calls for affordable route to citizenship
The IPPR report recommended that citizenship fees be brought much closer to their actual administrative costs, and called for the Life in the UK test to be replaced with a new course centred on community life, British institutions, and shared values.
Marley Morris, the report’s author, said the current system treats citizenship as a bureaucratic transaction rather than a civic milestone.
“If we want long-term residents to be included in our common life, there should be a clear and affordable route to becoming British,” he said.
Former Labour home secretary David Blunkett, writing in the report’s foreword, called for citizenship and democracy to be introduced into the school curriculum in 2026 rather than 2028, and for early indefinite leave to remain to be granted to those on authorised visa routes who pass English courses and demonstrate community commitment.
The Home Office defended its fee structure, saying any revenue generated above processing costs helps fund the broader migration system.
A spokesperson said:
“British citizenship is a privilege. It is right that those who benefit from the migration and borders system contribute towards its operation, reducing the burden on the taxpayer.”
The report also arrives as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood faces pressure to scale back plans that would double the waiting period for permanent residency from five years to 10, following threatened backbench opposition within Parliament.
