Closed petition Exempt Looked After children from citizenship fees

Closed on 19 February 2021

Citizenship applications for children cost £1,012. Where a child is Looked After this cost would fall on the local authority, which many routinely try and avoid. We want the Government to exempt Looked After children from citizenship fees so these children can more easily secure citizenship.

In 2019 my partner and I adopted a little girl who was born in the UK to parents who were not UK citizens. Her local council decided not to apply for citizenship on her behalf, and so she remained stateless until the adoption order conferred my citizenship upon her. Other children are not so fortunate.

The likelihood of a child being adopted diminishes as they age, so children taken into care later in life are at risk of finding themselves stateless in their own country, or even vulnerable to deportation.