Under EU laws, EU citizens and their families have a right to move and reside freely anywhere within the EEA (ref. directive 2004/38/EC).

UK law – specifically, The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006) section 18(4) – states that “A document certifying permanent residence and a permanent residence card shall be issued free of charge.”

However, from today (1 July 2013), as you can see from the Home Office website, the UK Border Agency has now started charging for these applications.

Simple question, really: how, exactly, does the Home Office get around both EU and UK laws, in charging these fees?