Introduction of Immigration Fees

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A decision made on 22 October 2009 to introduce immigration fees in respect of the grant, or variation of leave to remain.

Decision Reference: MD-HA-2009-0098
Decision Summary Title :	Introduction of Immigration fees	Date of Decision Summary:	19th October 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Director, Legal Status and Revenue	Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written	Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Introduction of Immigration Fees	Date of Written Report:	19th October 2009
Written Report Author:	Director, Legal Status and Revenue	Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: To introduce Immigration fees in respect of the grant, or variation of leave to remain.
Decision(s): The Minister decided to introduce a new ‘user pays’ charge at the following rates in order to recover the cost of providing services to overseas nationals who are subject to immigration control in respect of the grant of leave or the variation of that leave after the entry of such persons: Application for leave to remain, or variation of leave to a specified date, work permit holder or work permit dependant: £400* Application for leave to remain, or variation of leave to a specified date, others: £465* Application for leave to remain for an indefinite period: £820* Application for endorsement of existing leave to remain in a new passport: £165 * An additional £50 for each dependant applied for at the same time would also be payable The Minister further decided to seek the in principle approval of the States Assembly in advance of making the necessary Order to introduce this new “user pays” charge, and to request the Law Draftsman to prepare a draft Order.

Reason(s) for Decision: Under Section 5 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, as extended to Jersey by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (Jersey) Order 2003, the Minister for Home Affairs wishes, by order, to prescribe fees to be paid in connection with applications for: leave to remain in the Bailiwick of Jersey; the variation of leave to enter, or remain in, the Bailiwick of Jersey; an indefinite leave stamp to be fixed on the applicant’s passport (or travel document) as the result of the renewal or replacement of his previous passport (or travel document). P63/2003 (adopted by the States in June 2003) states that no new ‘user pays’ charges can be introduced by Committees of the States without any such charge receiving prior in principle approval by the States Assembly.
Resource Implications: There are no manpower or cost implications to the Service associated with this decision. Additional income will be raised if Immigration fees are introduced.
Action required: The Director, Legal Status and Revenue of the Customs and Immigration Service to instruct the Law Draftsman to prepare a draft Order to prescribe the following fees to be paid in connection with the following applications:- Leave to remain, or variation of leave to a specified date, Work Permit holder or work permit dependant: fee of £400. Leave to remain, or variation of leave to a specified date, others: fee of £465. Leave to remain for an indefinite period: fee of £820. Endorsement of existing indefinite leave to remain in a new passport: fee of £165. An additional £50 for each dependant applied for at the same time would also be payable The Director, Legal Status and Revenue of the Customs and Immigration Service to prepare a Report and Proposition for presentation to the States Assembly regarding the introduction of Immigration fees.
Signature:	Position:
Date Signed:	Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Introduction of Immigration Fees

Home Affairs Department

Customs and Immigration Service - Introduction of Immigration Fees

Background

During the course of 2003 and 2004 the UK Home Office introduced charges for a range of immigration and nationality applications. This sought to ensure that those who use and benefit from the UK’s immigration service met the cost of delivering administrative costs (including staffing and overhead costs) of processing applications to the point of making and conveying a decision.

A further review published in July 2006 stated that the Home Office should charge a fair and economic rate for their services but also one that reflected the true operational costs of immigration systems.

The UK charges also reflect the value to the migrant of the immigration permission that is granted to him. For example an overseas national who successfully applies for ‘indefinite leave to remain’ is in fact then able to live in the UK and Islands without restriction and is free to access the labour market. It goes without saying that for the migrant this is a significant step which confers entitlements which are highly prized.

The vast majority of applications in the UK are made by post and a significant premium is charged for anyone that wishes to make an application in person at a Public Enquiry Office (PEO). The 2009/2010 UK postal fees are shown below with the UK PEO fees in brackets:

Application for leave to remain, or variation of leave to a specified date, work permit holder or work permit dependant: £400* (£600)

Application for leave to remain, or variation of leave to a specified date, others: £465* (£665)

Application for leave to remain for an indefinite period: £820* (£1,020)

Application for endorsement of existing leave to remain in a new passport: £165 (£515)

* An additional £50 for each dependant applied for at the same time is also payable

The Isle of Man introduced immigration fees equivalent to the 2008/2009 UK Postal Rate for the first time in June 2009, and the Guernsey Customs and Immigration Department intend to recommend implementation of a charging regime in due course.

Indefinite leave to remain granted in Jersey is transferable to the UK, Isle of Man and Guernsey, and vice versa. There would therefore appear to be a clear disparity between the jurisdictions given that the UK and Isle of Man levy a significant charge for a service which Jersey currently provides for free.

Legal basis

Section 5 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, as extended to Jersey by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (Jersey) Order 2003, allows for the Minister, by Order, to prescribe fees to be paid in connection with applications for:-

leave to remain in the Bailiwick of Jersey;
the variation of leave to enter, or remain in, the Bailiwick of Jersey;
an indefinite leave stamp to be fixed on the applicant’s passport (or travel document) as the result of the renewal or replacement of his previous passport (or travel document).

‘User Pays’ Principle

P63/2003 (adopted by the States in June 2003) states that no new ‘user pays’ charges can be introduced by Committees of the States without any such charge receiving prior in principle approval by the States Assembly.

Conclusion

The Customs and Immigration Service does not consider the introduction of Immigration fees to be a contentious issue as the UK has been charging Immigration fees for many years without any significant problems. In addition, the existing legislation allows for the Minister, by Order, to prescribe these fees.

It is accepted that all three Crown Dependencies charge an identical fee as the UK for the issue of a British passport; accordingly, the Service considers that any Immigration fees charged in Jersey should be equivalent to fees charged for an identical service in the other Crown Dependencies.

Applications for leave to remain in Jersey are made in person by appointment, and are not generally accepted by post. A standard processing time of 3 weeks is publicised although in reality this is the maximum time an applicant will wait and every effort is made to minimise processing delays.

Applicants are actively encouraged to make applications in person in order that proper advice and guidance can be provided, and discrepancies easily resolved; postal applications are not encouraged. As the Service does not offer a two-tier level of service for applications, it is not considered that there is sufficient justification in applying fees based on the UK Public Enquiry Office (PEO) ‘premium’ fees in the Island.

The Isle of Man, when introducing immigration fees for the first time in June 2009, applied the rationale that they would seek to charge the equivalent to the UK Postal Rate for the reasons set out above. Current Isle of Man charges remain at the equivalent of UK 2008/2009 levels due to the amount of time required to draft the required legislative amendments and to lay these before Tynwald for approval. The Isle of Man authorities intend to propose an increase in their fees to ultimately match the prevailing UK Postal Rate.

It is known that the Guernsey Customs and Immigration Department intend to recommend implementation of the equivalent of the UK Postal Rate charging regime in due course.

Estimate of Revenue

On current workload it is estimated that fees charged at the same level as the current UK Postal Rate will generate a gross income of approximately £100,000 with no additional manpower or cost implications to the Service. This amount is equal to 11% of the Customs and Immigration Service’s income, and 6% of the total Home Affairs Department’s income, identified in the 2010 Draft Annual Business Plan.

This income will not exceed expenditure in the budget of the relevant Customs and Immigration costed service area.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to direct the Customs and Immigration Service to:

Instruct the Law Draftsman to prepare a draft Order to prescribe the following fees to be paid in connection with the following applications:

Leave to remain, or variation of leave to a specified date, Work Permit holder or work permit dependant: fee of £400*.

Leave to remain, or variation of leave to a specified date, others: fee of £465*.

Leave to remain for an indefinite period: fee of £820*.

Endorsement of existing indefinite leave to remain in a new passport: fee of £165.

*An additional £50 for each dependant applied for at the same time would also be payable.

Prepare a Report and Proposition for presentation to the States Assembly regarding the introduction of Immigration fees.

David Nurse

Director, Legal Status and Revenue

Customs and Immigration Service

19th October 2009