§ The Minister for Citizenship and Immigration (Beverley Hughes)During the summer of 2003 the Government consulted stakeholders about the introduction of a charge for extension of leave to remain for immigration employment documents such as work permits. Responses to the consultation were published on 7 January 2004.
I am announcing today that following the consultation a charge of £121 will be introduced for the consideration of each application from 1 April 2004 (within the range proposed in the consultation document). A new form for applications for leave to remain for immigration employment documents will also be introduced. A full Regulatory Impact Assessment has been carried out, and this is available from today in the House of Commons library.
I am also announcing an increase in the fee for Convention Travel Documents, issued to refugees; Stateless Persons' Travel Documents; and one way documents of identity. From 1 April 2004 the charge for application for these documents will increase from £28 to £42 to bring fees in line with those for the UK passports. Statutory instruments that set out the regulations for the new fees and leave to remain application form will be available from today.