Section:GDN 1N PaGe:16 Edition Date:190801 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 31/7/2019 19:20 cYanmaGentaYellowb
- The Guardian Thursday 1 August 2019
(^16) National
Rising Home Offi ce fees ‘force
young people into destitution’
Poppy Noor
Young people who have grown up in
the UK are being forced into destitu-
tion as a result of Home Offi ce fees that
have more than trebled in fi ve years.
The cost of renewing an applica-
tion for a resident with limited leave
to remain has increased by 238% in fi ve
years – from £601 a person in 2014 to
£2,033 in January this year.
The data was compiled by Let us
Learn, part of the charity Just for Kids
Law, for a report by young UK migrants
about the Home Offi ce’s 10-year route
to British citizenship.
Limited leave to remain is granted
to people with a strong connection
to the UK, including those who have
lived in Britain for number of years or
who have family or own property in
the country.
The length of time a resident
must wait before becoming eligible
to apply for British citizenship has
almost doubled since 2012, from six
years to 10 – pushing thousands of
describes this as a charge for ‘tempo-
rary migrants’, even though people
like me have lived here most of our
lives, and already contribute to the
NHS through taxes.
“If I can’t aff ord to pay the fee, I
lose my right to NHS treatment and
my lawful immigration status.”
The process also involves complex
paperwork , she said. “Home Offi ce
forms are long and complex. Getting
expert legal advice is expensive so
often people have to do it on their own.
If your application is then rejected,
you have to save up all over again and
reapply , literally adding years to the
process.”
The Home Office is reviewing
immigration fees and said it was “con-
sidering a range of concerns that have
been expressed”. A spokesman said:
“It is only right that those that benefi t
from the NHS contribute to its running.
The income generated from the immi-
gration health surcharge goes directly
to NHS services, helping to protect
and sustain our world-class health-
care system for everyone who uses it.
“Fee waivers are also available for
applications under specifi ed human
rights routes that cater for children and
young people who have spent a signif-
icant amount of their life in the UK.
“A waiver can therefore be applied
to the health surcharge. In such cases,
if the applicant cannot pay either the
health surcharge or the immigration
fee, we will waive both.”
lawful migrants into an increasingly
precarious existence.
Fees for a limited leave to remain
application are per person rather than
per household, and the status must
be renewed every 30 months. This
means some families are paying tens
of thousands of pounds every two-
and-a-half years.
Let Us Learn said it had seen cases
where parents were forced to choose
which child’s status they could aff ord
to maintain, without enough money
to pay fees for the whole family.
Andrew Noel, 24, has lived in Britain
since he was 11, but lost his family
home and had to drop out of univer-
sity because of the changes, despite
getting the best grades in his school.
Noel had received most of his
education in Britain and was not aware
until he applied to university that he
was ineligible for a student loan.
After his family realised they
needed to apply for limited leave to
remain for him, it took years to save
up the fees. A failed application and
some bad legal advice left them home-
less and in arrears.
Noel, 19 at the time, ended up
sharing a bed with his 20-year-old
brother.
“Up until this point ... I didn’t see
myself as diff erent to my peers. I had
studied here since I was 11, all of my
formative years were spent in Britain,”
he said.
Last year he was off ered a scholar-
ship to study law at the London School
of Economics – but he could still have
his status revoked at any time if he
is unable to keep up with the Home
Offi ce fees.
The £2,033 fee includes a £1,
contribution to the NHS, which cam-
paigners have called a double tax.
Chrisann Jarrett , who has limited
leave to remain and founded Let
Us Learn, said: “The £2,033 cost
includes £1,000 for the compulsory
health service levy. The Home Offi ce
£2,
The fee for an application for
limited leave to remain, which
must be renewed every 30 months
In brief
Courts
Drug dealer caught out
by his own car camera
Police
Man, 37, dies after arrest
for ‘erratic behaviour’
A drug dealer has been jailed after
he was caught in the act by his
own car’s dashboard camera. Scott
Curtis, 45, from Aberdare, south
Wales , recorded himself saying he
sold “gear” as he conducted class A
drug deals from his Ford Focus.
Police caught him throwing small
bags of cocaine and heroin out of his
A man arrested for allegedly
assaulting people and acting
erratically in an east London street
has died in police custody.
Offi cers responded to reports
of a man assaulting people in
Cundy Road, a residential street
in Newham, at 7.15am yesterday.
He was said to have walked off
towards Prince Regent Lane, where
he was seen throwing himself on to
passing cars and confronting council
workers, police said.
A man believed to be 37 years old
was fi nally apprehended after being
restrained by security guards at the
nearby ExCel London event venue.
“The man was placed in
handcuff s by offi cers, but became
unresponsive,” a Metropolitan
police statement said. Offi cers
gave fi rst aid and he was taken to
hospital, but he died shortly after.
Next of kin were being informed.
One ExCel security guard was
treated at hospital for bite injuries.
No one has been arrested. The
Met’s directorate of professional
standards and the Independent
Offi ce for Police Conduct have
been informed, according to
the protocol for deaths in police
custody. “ Inquiries into the full
circumstances continue,” the Met
said. Damien Gayle
car window after they pulled him
over in September last year, Merthyr
Tydfi l crown court heard.
Offi cers found the camera during
a search of his home, where they
also found cannabis plants. Two
hours of footage included a scene
of him polishing the car before
answering his phone and being
heard saying: “I don’t do Valium,
gear I do,” and agreeing the price
“three for 25”. The drug deal was
recorded in full view of the camera.
Curtis was jailed for two years
and six months after pleading guilty
to possessing cocaine and heroin
with intent to supply and producing
cannabis. D C Steve Woolley of South
Wales police said: “ When we played
back his own Dashcam footage, I
▲ Scott Curtis, 45, from south Wales,
was jailed for two and a half years
don’t think he could quite believe
it himself. Initially he replied no
comment each time he was given
the chance to explain what was
going on, but so good was the
case against him, he pleaded
guilty to all charges .” PA Media
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