asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 25 April (WA 324), why it costs £735 to be registered as a British citizen. [HL3356]

We now calculate the fees for immigration applications with a flexible charging model. This means we use a number of factors to determine the fees working within strict financial limits agreed with HM Treasury. We no longer set fees on a straightforward cost-recovery basis but flexibly to cover the full end-to-end cost of the immigration system and by taking into account the value of a successful application in terms of entitlements and benefits to the migrant.