Statutory Instruments
Diplomatic Service
Made
12th March 2008
Coming into force
1st April 2008
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 12th day of March 2008
Present,
The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by section 1(1) of the Consular Fees Act 1980(1) is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:
1. This Order may be cited as the Consular Fees Order 2008 and shall come into force on 1 April 2008.
2. In this Order—
“British overseas territory” means a territory as defined in section 50(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981(2) and includes the territories listed in Schedule 6 to that Act;
“Commonwealth country” means a country listed in Schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act 1981;
“Crown Dependencies” means the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Isle of Man;
“consular officer” means any person authorised by the Secretary of State to exercise consular functions, or functions in the United Kingdom which correspond with consular functions (including persons who are not, as well as persons who are, consular officers);
“consular employee” means any person in the administrative or technical service of the consular post or diplomatic mission;
“consular premises” means the building or parts of buildings used for the purposes of the consular post or diplomatic mission;
“entry clearance” means a visa, entry certificate, entry permit or other document which, in accordance with the applicable immigration laws or rules, is to be taken as evidence of a person’s eligibility for entry into the United Kingdom, a Crown Dependency, a British overseas territory, a Commonwealth country or any other country or territory, as the case may be (but does not include a work permit);
“fast-track service” means an application made in person, either by the applicant or another person acting on behalf of the applicant, which is to be processed within seven days of that application having been made;
“fast-track collect service” means an application made in person, either by the applicant or by another person acting on behalf of the applicant, which is to be processed within seven days of that application having been made, and which permits the applicant or another person acting on behalf of the applicant to collect the passport in person;
“premium service” in relation to passport applications means an application made in person, either by the applicant or another person acting on behalf of the applicant, which is to be processed within twenty-four hours of that application having been made;
“premium service” in relation to legalisation means the same day service for the processing by a London legalisation office dedicated for companies, solicitors and notaries of applications made in person;
“standard service” in relation to legalisation means the 24 hour service for the processing by the main legalisation office, whether situated in London or Milton Keynes, or by consular officers at consular posts, of applications made in person and the processing of postal applications within a reasonable time period.
3. The fees set forth in the table in Schedule 1 to this Order are prescribed to be levied by consular officers and by marriage officers under the Foreign Marriage Act 1892(3) and the Marriage with Foreigners Act 1906(4) in the execution of their duties.
4. The statutory instruments listed in Schedule 2 to this Order are revoked by this Order.
Judith Simpson
Clerk of the Privy Council
| Fee | £ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Attesting or legalising a signature or seal except where— | ||
| (a) | the signature or seal is on a certificate or survey of foreign passenger ships running to or from the United Kingdom, or | ||
| (b) | the signature or seal is on a document required for the deposit or withdrawal of money in or from any British Post Office or other Government Savings Bank, or | ||
| (c) | the signature or seal is in connection with stocks or bonds on the registers of the Post Office, with Savings Bank annuities or with annuities granted direct by the National Debt Commissioners— | ||
| (i) | Standard service | 27.00 | |
| (ii) | Premium service | 67.00 | |
| Fee | £ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
(a) | ||||
(b) | ||||
(c) | ||||
| 2. | Preparing any certificate, declaration or document not listed elsewhere in this Schedule— | |||
| (a) | in standard form, for every copy | 34.00 | ||
| (b) | not in standard form, for every 100 words— | |||
| (i) | in English | 42.00 | ||
| (ii) | in any other language | 67.00 | ||
| 3. | Preparing or signing, or both, a declaration of existence— | 16.50 | ||
| Except in connection with pay or pensions payable by a department of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, or the Government of any other Commonwealth country | ||||
| 4. | Administering an oath or attesting the signature on a declaration or affirmation except where— | 50.00 | ||
| (a) | the oath, declaration or affirmation is made under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(a) or in connection with the loss of a passport | |||
| (b) | fee 16, 17, 27, 28, 29, 32, 38, 44, or 45 is to be taken | |||
| 5. | Supplying witnesses, for each witness | 20.00 | ||
| 6. | Initialling alterations in any document not prepared by the consular officer or marking exhibits, for each initialling or marking | 10.00 | ||
| 7. | Making or verifying (including certifying when necessary) a copy of a document— | |||
| (a) | in typescript, for each page | 34.00 | ||
| (b) | reproduced by electronic means outside the consular premises, for each page | 34.00 | ||
| (c) | reproduced by electronic means within the consular premises, for each page (with a minimum charge of £25) | 5.00 | ||
| 8. | Uniting documents and sealing the fastening (except where fee 45 is applicable) | 20.00 | ||
| 9. | Affixing a photograph to a document not prepared by the consular officer, and if necessary, certifying it (except where fee 16 or17 is applicable) | 20.00 | ||
| 10. | Obtaining a legalisation or other certification from another authority upon any document (in addition to other direct costs if any) | 42.00 | ||
| 11. | Supplying certified copies of documents which form part of the records of a court which is, or was formerly, established under the Foreign Jurisdiction Acts 1890(b) and 1913(c), for each page | 59.00 | ||
| 12. | Making or verifying (including certifying when necessary) a written translation, for every 100 words or characters written in the foreign language (except where fee 31, 32 or 47 is to be taken)— | |||
| (a) | from or into Amharic, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean (three Japanese Kana count as one character when used independently) | 67.00 | ||
| (b) | from or into any other language | 42.00 | ||
| 13. | Translating and interpreting viva voce except when performing official duties, for every 15 minutes | 30.00 | ||
| Fee | £ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | Administering an application made abroad, including applications for replacing an expired passport, replacing a passport of restricted validity with a new passport of full validity, issuing a new passport with amended personal details and replacing a lost or stolen passport and, if the application is successful, providing a 32 page passport— | ||
| (a) | where the applicant is aged 16 years or over | 119.00 | |
| (b) | where the applicant is under 16 years old (for a passport valid for 5 years) | 76.00 | |
| 15. | Administering an application made abroad, including applications for replacing an expired passport, replacing a passport of restricted validity with a new passport of full validity, issuing a new passport with amended personal details and replacing a lost or stolen passport and, if the application is successful, providing a 48 page passport | 144.00 | |
| 16. | Administering an application made abroad and, if the application is successful providing an Emergency Passport (or other document not otherwise provided for in lieu of a passport) | 55.50 | |
| 17. | Administering an application made abroad and, if the application is successful providing a Temporary Passport valid for not more than one year | 70.50 | |
| Fee | £ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | Administering an application made in the United Kingdom, including applications for replacing an expired passport, replacing a passport of restricted validity with a new passport of full validity, issuing a new passport with amended personal details and replacing a lost or stolen passport and, if the application is successful, issuing a 32 page passport— | ||||
| (a) | for applications made by post— | ||||
| (i) | where the applicant is aged 16 years and over | 72.00 | |||
| (ii) | where the applicant is under 16 years old (for a passport valid for 5 years) | 46.00 | |||
| (b) | for applications made in person— | ||||
| (i) | where the applicant is aged 16 years or over using the fast-track service | 97.00 | |||
| (ii) | where the applicant is under 16 years old (for a passport valid for 5 years) using the fast-track service | 81.00 | |||
| (iii) | where the applicant is aged 16 years or over using the fast-track collect service | 109.00 | |||
| (iv) | where the applicant is under 16 years old (for a passport valid for 5 years) using the fast-track collect service | 91.00 | |||
| (v) | where the applicant is aged 16 years or over using the premium service | 114.00 | |||
| (vi) | where the applicant is under 16 years old (for a passport valid for 5 years) using the premium service | 94.00 | |||
| 19. | Administering an application made in the United Kingdom, including applications for replacing an expired passport, replacing a passport of restricted validity with a new passport of full validity, issuing a new passport with amended personal details and replacing a lost and stolen passport and, if the application is successful, issuing a 48 page passport— | ||||
| (a) | for applications made by post | 85.00 | |||
| (b) | for applications made in person— | ||||
| (i) | using the fast-track service | 105.00 | |||
| (ii) | using the fast-track collect service | 109.00 | |||
| (iii) | using the premium service | 123.00 | |||
| 20. | Administering an application made in the United Kingdom and, if the application is successful, issuing a collective passport— | ||||
| (a) | for applications made by post | 39.00 | |||
| (b) | for applications made in person | 54.00 | |||
| Fee | £ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21. | Preparing or forwarding, or both, any letter, certificate, declaration or other document which may be required by an authority in any country or territory in connection with an application for or the issue or renewal of an entry clearance (for a country or territory for which the consular officer does not himself have authority to issue entry clearance), a residence permit or identity card or forwarding any other certificate or document (except a Home Office travel document and applications for registration and naturalisation) | 59.00 | ||
| 22. | Renewing a Travel Certificate, a certificate of identity or other travel document on behalf of a Commonwealth country or of a dependency of a Commonwealth country (except where fee 24 is to be taken) | 59.00 | ||
| 23. | Renewing a Travel Certificate, a certificate of identity or other travel document on behalf of a Crown Dependency or a British overseas territory (except where fee 24 is to be taken) | 59.00 | ||
| 24. | Revalidating or renewing a Seaman’s Certificate of Nationality and Identity or a Seaman’s Identity Book (in addition to fee 21 where applicable) | 59.00 | ||
| 25. | Receiving an application for entry clearance to a Commonwealth country or British overseas territory | 44.00 | ||
| 26. | Receiving, outside the United Kingdom, an application for— | |||
| (a) | entry clearance to the Crown Dependencies— | |||
| (i) | as a visitor, in each case for single, double and multiple entries valid for up to six months from the date of issue | 65.00 | ||
| (ii) | for settlement | 515.00 | ||
| (iii) | as a student | 99.00 | ||
| (iv) | outside the Immigration Rules on an application by entertainers in accordance with Chapter 17 Section 3 of the Home Office Immigration Directorate’s Instructions | 99.00 | ||
| (v) | outside the Immigration Rules on an application by sportsmen and women in accordance with Chapter 17 Section 8 of the Home Office Immigration Directorate’s Instructions | 99.00 | ||
| (vi) | outside the Immigration Rules on an application by voluntary workers in accordance with Chapter 17 Section 9 of the Home Office Immigration Directorate’s Instructions | 99.00 | ||
| (vii) | for any purpose other than those listed sub-paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) listed above | 205.00 | ||
| (b) | a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode in the Crown Dependencies | 200.00 | ||
| Fee | £ | |
|---|---|---|
(d) | ||
(e) | ||
(f) | ||
(g) | ||
(h) | ||
| 27. | Receiving notice of an intended marriage, civil partnership or overseas relationship | 59.00 |
| 28. | Solemnising or attending a marriage under the Foreign Marriage Acts 1892(d) and 1947(e): administering oaths to the parties and registering the marriage | 126.00 |
| 29. | Registering a civil partnership under the Civil Partnership (Registration Abroad and Certificates) Order 2005(f) | 126.00 |
| 30. | Issuing in English or in the local language a certificate that no impediment to an intended marriage or civil partnership has been shown to exist or issuing a “certificate de coutume” for an intended marriage or intended overseas relationship in accordance with local law | 59.00 |
| 31. | Forwarding a record of a marriage under the local law to the appropriate Registrar General in accordance with the Foreign Marriage Order 1970(g), including the provision of any necessary certification | 34.00 |
| 32. | Forwarding a record of an overseas relationship to the appropriate Registrar General in accordance with the Civil Partnership (Registration Abroad and Certificates) Order 2005(h), including the provision of any necessary certification | 34.00 |
| 33. | Registering a birth or death (in addition to fee 35 where applicable) | 92.00 |
| 34. | Making an addition to or correction in the consular register of births, deaths, marriages or civil partnerships at the request of the parties concerned | 34.00 |
| 35. | Issuing a certified copy of an entry in the consular register of births, deaths, marriages or civil partnerships (in addition to fee 36 or 33 where applicable) | 59.00 |
| Fee | £ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 36. | Making a search in (in addition to fee 2(a) and 35 where applicable)— | ||
| (a) | the consular registers of births, deaths, marriages or civil partnerships where the number or date of entry is not provided | 59.00 | |
| (b) | the records of the Identity and Passport Service where the request originates in the United Kingdom | 14.00 | |
| (c) | any other records or archives of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom | 103.00 | |
| (d) | naturalisation or registration records kept by a consular officer | 72.00 | |
| 37. | Having a search made for, or attempting to obtain copies of, or both, entries in the local registers or records of local authorities responsible for births, marriages or overseas relationships or for any other document, irrespective of whether an entry or record or any other document is found or obtained after a period of 18 months (in addition to direct costs exceeding £5.00 if any) | 121.00 | |
| Fee | £ | |
|---|---|---|
(i) | ||
| 38. | Administering an oath of British Citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981(i) at a citizenship ceremony | 50.00 |
| 39. | Preparing or forwarding, or both, an application for registration or naturalisation to the Home Office | 59.00 |
| 40. | Preparing or forwarding, or both, any other application requested by any Department of Her Majesty’s Government | 59.00 |
| 41. | Supervising a knowledge of life test for naturalisation under the British Nationality Act 1981 in consular premises | 121.00 |
| Fee | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 42. | Administering fully or partly, safeguarding, or arranging the transmission of all or part of the personal effects and other estate of a deceased person or if sold, the proceeds, except for the wages and personal effects of a seaman. Except where the gross current market value is less than £1,000; charge based on the amount of the gross current market value | 2% rounded to the nearest £10.00 |
| However where a local lawyer is employed and consular officer’s actions are nominal | 76.00 |
| Fee | £ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 43. | Attending (except in connection with trade and investment enquiries) for each hour or part hour. The time taken will include reasonable travelling time from the consular premises and return or out of office hours to the consular or other premises and return— | ||
| (a) | at the consular premises or elsewhere during office hours except when attending to supervise an examination for two or more persons sitting examinations at the same time when the fee may be apportioned between them | 121.00 | |
| (b) | at the consular premises or elsewhere outside office hours | 121.00 | |
| up to a maximum in any 24 hour period for each consular officer of | 870.00 | ||
| Fee | £ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 44. | Presiding at the taking of evidence under a commission or order from a Court, including any action by the consular officer as examiner— | ||
| (a) | for up to two hours on the first day | 241.00 | |
| (b) | for each additional hour or part hour | 121.00 | |
| 45. | Providing evidence of service or attempted service (in addition to fee 43 or 46) | 121.00 | |
| 46. | Providing the services of a consular officer or consular employee— | ||
| (a) | to assist the consular officer in the taking of evidence under a commission or order from a Court, for each such person— | ||
| for each hour or part hour | 121.00 | ||
| (b) | to affect or endeavour to affect service of a document, for each hour or part hour outside the consular premises— | ||
| during office hours | 121.00 | ||
| outside office hours | 151.00 | ||
| 47. | Forwarding a request to a local authority for the taking of evidence or the service of a document, where necessary, certifying the accuracy of a translation accompanying the document | 121.00 | |
| Fee | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 48. | Arranging the repatriation of a person or members of the same family travelling together | 121.00 |
| 49. | Arranging for currency to be made available against the deposit of funds with Her Majesty’s Government by any means (in addition to fee 43 where payable) | 61.00 |
| Fee | £ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
(k) | |||
| 50. | Granting or considering whether to grant a provisional certificate of registry, whether the owner is a private individual or body corporate | 352.00 | |
| 51. | Receiving a return of the birth or death of any person on board a ship and endorsing the agreement with the crew accordingly | 51.00 | |
| 52. | Examining or arranging for the examination of provisions or water, payable by the party who proves to be in default (in addition to any cost of a survey) | 51.00 | |
| 53. | Noting a marine protest and furnishing one certified copy if required and for each further copy | 42.00 | |
| 54. | Extending a marine protest, filing the original and furnishing one certified copy is required (in addition to fee 1 and 2 where applicable)— | ||
| (a) | for up to 200 words, excluding the declaratory clause | 101.00 | |
| (b) | for every subsequent 100 words or less | 42.00 | |
| 55. | Making a request, or issuing or arranging for the issue of a document, in connection with a survey of a ship (in addition to fee 7 where applicable)— | ||
| (a) | for the purposes of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 (SOLAS) or of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973 as modified by its Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL) | 67.00 | |
| (b) | for any other purpose | 121.00 | |
| 56. | Issuing a bill of health | 42.00 | |
| 57. | Preparing or signing, or both, any document, whether required by the Merchant Shipping Acts or by the local authorities, relating to the master or the members of the crew of a ship, to their numbers, names or other details, or to their engagement, discharge, desertion or death (except where fee 51 is taken in addition to fee 43, or a death inquiry is held under section 271 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(k)) | 67.00 | |
| 58. | Signing and, if required, sealing any documents at the request of the master of the ship (except where this is required under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, or fee 57 is taken) | 67.00 | |
| 59. | Inspecting— | ||
| (a) | a ship’s papers when required to enable a consular officer to do any matter or thing in respect of a ship (except where fee 57 is taken in addition to fee 43) | 50.00 | |
| (b) | the marking of a ship, irrespective of the number of visits (in addition to fee 43) | 50.00 | |
| Statutory Instruments revoked | References |
|---|---|
| Consular Fees Order 2007 | S.I. 2007/649 |
| Consular Fees (Amendment) Order 2007 | S.I. 2007/1680 |
| Consular Fees (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2007 | S.I. 2007/2124 |
(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order revokes and replaces the Consular Fees Order 2007, the Consular Fees (Amendment) Order 2007 and the Consular Fees (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2007.
The Order sets out fees to be charged for consular services.
The Order introduces a premium service for legalisation in Part 1 of Schedule 1 dedicated for companies, solicitors and notaries and enables fees for passport applications made both overseas and in the United Kingdom to be non-refundable in the event that the application is unsuccessful.
This Order does not include fees for receiving applications for entry clearance to the United Kingdom, for passing through the United Kingdom, direct airside transit visas and certificates of entitlement of abode. These fees are now charged under section 51 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (c. 13) and, in respect of those fees that are set at levels that exceed the administrative cost of the application, in reliance on section 42 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004 (c.19).
Fees for receiving applications for entry clearance to Commonwealth countries, British overseas territories and Crown Dependencies continue to be charged in this Order under the Consular Fees Act 1980. Fees for applications for entry clearance to the Crown Dependencies made from outside the UK have been increased by approximately 3% in line with inflation apart from fees for entry clearance as a student, or as an entertainer or sportsman or sportswomen, or as a voluntary worker outside the Immigration Directorate’s Instructions, which have not been increased.
For the purposes of entry clearance to the Crown Dependencies, the Immigration Rules (HC 395) referred to were laid before Parliament on 23 May 1994 under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 (c 77).
The Home Office Immigration Directorate’s Instructions referred to are published at: http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/IDIs or can be obtained from the Home Office, Border and Immigration Agency 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon, CR9 2BY.
A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Consular Directorate, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Old Admiralty Building, London, SW1A 2PA and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside this instrument on the OPSI website.