Children who have grown up in Britain are being deprived of their right to citizenship because of the “heavy-handed” approach taken by immigration officials, a parliamentary committee has said.

The “good character” test is being applied so strictly that it is even affecting youngsters who have no criminal convictions, according to the joint committee on human rights (JCHR).

The committee’s report, which scrutinises the government’s proposed changes to the British Nationality Act 1981, raises concerns about immigration control practices.

A police caution or minor offence could mean that a child who has grown up in the UK may be denied British citizenship, the MPs and peers warned.

The study follows a report in the Guardian last year based on freedom of information requests, which found that on average one child a week has had their application rejected over the last five years.

Campaigners estimated that as many as 400 children had been denied citizenship for failing to satisfy the good character requirement since it was introduced in 2006.

The committee investigation noted that during the past decade “good character requirements have been extended to apply to children who are entitled to be British citizens due to their close connection with the UK”.

The report said: “It is inappropriate to apply the good character requirement to young children with a right to be British, where the United Kingdom is the only country they know and where they have grown up their whole lives here.”

Evidence heard by the committee showed that good character tests affected children as young as 10 who had lived all their lives in the UK.

MPs and peers were also critical of the high fees charged for applications, which can cost up to four figures. “This means the government is asking children for fees that are more than three times the cost recovery for processing such an application,” the committee said. “The committee is concerned that disproportionately high fees could risk excluding children from more vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds from accessing their rights.”

The Home Office is urged to review its proposed changes to the law and act “without delay” to ensure a fair, non-discriminatory approach to UK nationality law.

“The application of good character requirements to children raises concerns that the rights of the child – and in particular the requirement that the best interests of the child be a primary consideration – are not being respected in the application of nationality law to children living in the UK,” the study said.

Cuts to legal aid have compounded the problem. “It is now harder than ever for individuals to obtain the advice they need to be able to access justice and enforce their human rights,” the committee concluded.

“This can be all the more important relating to citizenship rights as these touch upon the very identity of a person and their rights to live in the country where they were born, have grown up and with which they identify and have their cultural links and identity.”