This has been going around for some years. The drive for this I suspect has come more form the CAA than the DfT.
I well remember a meeting some years ago in Oxford when the then, Head of Licencing, brought up the subject of Foreign registered aircraft and the CAA's hostile attitude to having then based in the UK. This was long before EASA came on the scene.
The naivety of the costings astounds me although it shouldn't!!
Their line about "unlikely that the total cost of reregistering the aircraft affected by the proposal will exceed £0.25m" Even taking a middle of the range of 1000 aircraft that would only be £250 per aircraft.
At £651 for a C of A and 1000 A/C that's already £651,000.00 before you start with ratings, modifications, maintenance.
Or have I misread something?
I don't often get pen to paper (or fingers to keyoard) but now seems the time.
Mike Echo