The cost of becoming a British citizen has reached £1,839, adding to the financial burden facing African migrants seeking citizenship in the United Kingdom.
Applicants pay £1,709 for naturalisation.
Successful applicants must then pay another £130 for a mandatory citizenship ceremony.
The total is more than three times the comparable citizenship fee cited for the United States.
UK citizenship fees reach £1,839
Home Office data analysed by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) puts the estimated administrative cost of processing a citizenship application at £324.
However, the naturalisation application fee stands at £1,709.
According to Business Insider Africa, the UK’s fee is more than three times higher than the next most expensive citizenship fee among G7 countries.
The United States charges the equivalent of about £562, according to the analysis.
Nigerians among Africans gaining British citizenship
Thousands of Africans become British citizens each year.
Home Office figures show that 12,630 Nigerians were granted British citizenship in 2024.
That made Nigerians one of the leading non-European nationalities receiving citizenship that year.
People from South Africa, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Algeria, Somalia and Zimbabwe also have long-established migration links with Britain.
Migrants face more costs before citizenship
The citizenship fee is only one part of the cost of Britain’s immigration process.
Before reaching the naturalisation stage, many migrants have already paid thousands of pounds in other charges.
These can include visa fees and the immigration health surcharge.
Applicants may also face separate costs for permanent residency.
Other expenses can include English language tests, the Life in the UK test, biometric enrolment, translations and document certification.
Some applicants also pay for professional immigration advice.
The immigration health surcharge alone costs many adult visa holders £1,035 per year.
UK reviews settlement rules
The debate over citizenship costs comes as the UK government reviews its settlement rules.
The changes could affect how long some migrants must wait before qualifying for permanent residency and eventually citizenship.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has defended the government’s approach to settlement.
She has argued that permanent settlement should depend on contribution and integration.
Campaigners criticise UK citizenship fees
Migrant and refugee organisations have criticised the cost of becoming a British citizen.
They argue that high fees can make citizenship harder to access for people who have already spent years living legally in the country.
The Refugee Council has warned that increasing financial barriers could put citizenship beyond the reach of some refugees.
Amnesty International has also criticised the way immigration costs are passed on to migrants.
Meanwhile, the IPPR has called for citizenship fees to move closer to the actual cost of processing applications.
It has also recommended replacing the Life in the UK test with a broader citizenship course.
UK government defends citizenship charges
The Home Office has defended the current fee structure.
It says the government does not make a profit from immigration and nationality charges.
Instead, it says income collected above individual processing costs helps fund the wider immigration system.
The government argues this reduces the financial burden on taxpayers.
For African migrants seeking British citizenship, however, the £1,839 final cost comes after years in which many applicants have already paid substantial immigration-related fees.