The Home Office has agreed to review its policy on fee waivers for human rights-based applications following a legal challenge by a Nigerian national. The case, FE v SSHD, concerned a care worker who had applied to extend his leave to remain in the UK. He had submitted his application on time and had proceeded with biometric checks, but his application was later treated as being out of time because he had not paid the application fee.
The Upper Tribunal ruled that the Home Office's policy of giving applicants only 10 working days to pay the fee after their application had been submitted was unlawful. The Tribunal found that this policy could lead to people being forced to leave the UK even though they had made a valid application for leave to remain.
In response to the ruling, the Home Office has agreed to review its policy. The review will consider whether the 10-day deadline should be extended, and whether there are other ways to ensure that people who have made a valid application for leave to remain are not forced to leave the UK.
The review is expected to be completed by the end of the year. In the meantime, the Home Office has said that it will continue to apply the 10-day deadline, but that it will be "sympathetic" to cases where people have been unable to pay the fee because of financial hardship.
The review of the Home Office's fee waiver policy is a welcome development. It is important that people who have made a valid application for leave to remain are not forced to leave the UK because they cannot afford to pay the application fee. The review should ensure that the Home Office's policy is fair and does not put people at risk of being deported.