Rejected petition Charge non-tax residents the full economic cost of emergency repatriations

Update FCDO guidelines to require HMRC residency checks for evacuation flights. Those not UK tax residents for most of the last five years must be billed the full operational cost, not a subsidised commercial rate.

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Taxpayers shouldn't subsidise those who opt out of the UK system. Currently, a "commercial" fee of £600 is charged, while actual costs exceed £4,500. This creates a "moral hazard" where high-earners in tax-free hubs like Dubai rely on UK-funded military and diplomatic services without contributing to them. Citizenship is a two-way street; those who choose not to pay UK tax should not receive a taxpayer-funded safety net. We must ensure the public purse is protected from "fair-weather" citizens.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

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You may wish to sign this petition which calls for similar action: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/762924

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 6 March 2026
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