EU Commission response to RC/PR fees

I refer to your complaint of 29 September 2015 concerning the UK permanent residence card fees
which was registered under reference number CHAP(2015)2894 (please quote this reference in any
further correspondence). Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your letter. I am
sorry if our service did not meet your expectation on this occasion.
Article 21(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union stipulates that every citizen of
the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States,
subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaties and by the measures adopted to
give them effect. The respective limitations and conditions are to be found in Directive 2004/3 8/EC
on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the
territory of the Member States. You can download consolidated version of the Directive in English at
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 616:EN:PDF.
As laid down in Article 25(2) of the Directive, registration certificates, documents certifying
permanent residence, residence cards and permanent residence cards shall be issued free of charge or
for a charge not exceeding that imposed on nationals for the issuing of similar documents.
The United Kingdom introduced fees for the above residence documents issued under the Directive
by the Immigration and Nationality (Cost Recovery Fees) Regulations 2013 (Statutory Instrument
2013 No. 617). The fee for all residence documents issued under the Directive was then set to 55
GBP.
The Explanatory Memorandum to the Regulations states that "[l]he fee level has been set at £55
following advice from the European Commission and after balancing consideration of the following
factors: charges for similar documents issued to British nationals (for example, the UK Passport
which costs £72.50, and the British Nationality Status Letter which costs £88); charges for other
documents, which whilst not similar in the rights which they evidence, have a comparable practical
effect (for example the UK drivers licence which costs £50); and the estimated cost to the UK Border
Agency of issuing the European documentation (£82 per unit). "
In May 2013, the Commission invited the UK authorities to provide a detailed explanation of the fee
and its compliance with Article 25(2) of the Directive, in particular in relation to the documents
considered as similar and the calculation of the estimated cost to the UK authorities of the issuing of
such residence documents.
Commission europŽenne, B-1049 Bruxelles / Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel - Belgium. Telephone: (+32-2) 299 11 11.
Office: M059 06/68. Telephone: direct line (32-2) 297 44 57. Fax: (32-2) 297 95 86. - E-mail: JUST-Citizenship@ec.europa.eu
Ref. Ares(2015)5903177 - 16/12/2015
The UK authorities replied in August 2013 and explained the choice of the documents considered as
similar (which in other EU Member States are typically national identity cards but these are not
issued in the UK) and the choice of the fee itself
The Commission accepted the UK response in October 2013 and terminated its investigations given
that it had not identified any documents that are being issued in the UK and that would be better
suited in the comparison foreseen in Article 25(2) of the Directive and that the fees had been set
lower than the passport and British Nationality Status Letter.
Since then, the fees for UK passports and residence documents under the Directive have been
increased by 10 GBP. Moreover, the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2015 (Statutory
Instrument 2015 No. 768) introduced the fee for taking a record of biometrie information in specified
circumstances of 19,20 GBP.
As the fee for taking a record of biometrie information applies, amongst others, to non-EU family
members of EU citizens applying for a permanent residence card but not to UK nationals applying
for a UK passport, the combined fee for permanent residence card is actually higher than the fee for
UK passports.
This difference does not appear to be contrary to Article 25(2) of the Directive.
The actual fee for issuance of the permanent residence card is lower than the passport fee.
Furthermore, "biometrie fee" is charged for an actual upgrade compared to UK passports (which do
not have the same biometrie features as permanent residence cards) that enhances security of the
residence document for the benefit of its holder.
According to available information and following analysis of your complaint in the light of
applicable EU law, your complaint is not founded in law. Unless we receive within four weeks of the
date of this letter new information that could cause us to change our opinion, we will close your
complaint.

Casa wrote:What do mean exactly by "and give them new information such as UK passport, driving licence etc not serving the purpose of the RC or PR."? What specifically do you want to challenge in their findings?

Whether the UK passport is a valid comparator is open to question, though. A British citizen only needs a passport for travel, so it is not an essential document as such. It is not needed for access to the NHS, for proving status for the purpose of employment and so on. Are EEA residence documents also inessential for purposes other than travel?

bluecole2 wrote:If I have that information I won't be here. As far I am aware, there're none. So UKVI/HO must justify £55 charges and £10 increases shortly after and in addition biometric cost attached which take total cost beyond the current comparator- UK passport