Naturalisation and Passport Pilot Scheme

[hadi2012]

Thanks very much for your advise. I really appreciate it.
Regarding the passport do you tell them when you attend your appointment or it has be done prior to the appointment?[/quote]
Hi when you attend your appointment that time you tell Ncs staff you want a combine application .she charge you ten pounds fee and check your passport form.Ncs staff is very helpfully in Wandworth council.

[narsii]

Probably this may sound silly ,

I live in Worthing on the weekdays and my permanent address is in London .
Do I need to take the physical Bio-Metrics letter to the post office ?
Cant I scan it and take soft copy / print the scanned copy later and submit it to Postoffice for taking bio-metrics.

Technically the PO guys need the BARCODE-NUMBER . So this should be technically possible . Any experience guys ?

Regards,
Narsii

[fielddrive]

I guess no harm in trying - could work if its a good quality scan. I don't know if there is an official line on this

[ali45]

Hi fielddrive can i book an appointment with the same council but im living at manchester is that any problem?

I guess no harm in trying - could work if its a good quality scan. I don't know if there is an official line on this

[fielddrive]

Hi fielddrive can i book an appointment with the same council but im living at manchester is that any problem?

I assume you are talking about NCS and in that case, you can book NCS with any council in the country you like. The only problem is you will have to travel there.

If you are asking about the oath ceremony, you can also specify which council you'd want to take oath and again all you have to do is travel there when the time comes.

[ali45]

Thanks for ur reply yes that NCS, is that make the application process faster?

Hi fielddrive can i book an appointment with the same council but im living at manchester is that any problem?

I assume you are talking about NCS and in that case, you can book NCS with any council in the country you like. The only problem is you will have to travel there.

If you are asking about the oath ceremony, you can also specify which council you'd want to take oath and again all you have to do is travel there when the time comes.

[fielddrive]

Thanks for ur reply yes that NCS, is that make the application process faster?

Not officially, no but pilot scheme members within the NCS have reported faster processing, including mine.

[MeMcMa]

I still haven't had confirmation of approval or otherwise on my application. I am getting paranoid each time I see someone from the DEC 2015 timeline get their Approval!!!

Is it just me? I applied using the pilot scheme too with Gloucestershire County Council- Cheltenham.

[ILR4PVM]

Couldn't find an all inclusive post for JCAP applications, so here is my experience so far. Beware, long post !

Eligibility criteria: 5 years T2 ICT + 1 year ILR (Employee with same company, no convictions or FPNs)
Language criteria met: Foreign degree with 10 points in PBC
Method of application: JCAP in NCS (Wandsworth)
Date of application: 10/02/2016

After deciding to use the JCAP pilot scheme, I called up 3 councils - Hackney, Southwark, Wandsworth. Wandsworth seemed to be the most friendly, consistent, knowledgeable and cheaper. They also had online booking & payment facility (for the other 2 had to declare card number over the phone) with lots of open slots for even the next day. So booked an appointment for 3/2 and paid £50 online. Then emailed ncs@wandsworth.gov.uk to inform that it is going to be a joint application. Got an acknowledgment same day itself confirming this. (Joint applications are being processed only on weekdays 9 AM to 3 pm - so book your slot accordingly). Later had email conversations where my queries were very well addressed (details posted in page 8 of this thread previously). Had to reschedule the appointment to 10/2 which was done with a no hassle phone call.

My appointment was at 10 am and was called in by 10:10.

Documents submitted:
AN form Jan 2016 version (got an NCS email that old form versions and old version counter signature pages will no longer be accepted)
Passport form (Mobile number not in Sec 2 but in Sec 8; Sec 3 - even though it asks for un-cancelled passports, NCS updated it to 2 with both my passport numbers cancelled and latest; Sec 4 No grandparents details needed ; Sec 5 left blank; Sec 10 left blank)
2 Passports (latest and a previous expired)
ILR BRP
3 photos (1 with full name and dob on back glued to AN form, 1 with full name and dob on back, 1 left blank - No counter signature needed on any of the photos)
LIUT pass certificate (NCS kept the original and informed that home office will return it only if the application is unsuccessful - so take your own copy to keep with you for future reference)
Degree certificate + Points based calculator printout (I had already met the English qualifications for my ILR application in Jan 2015, so this was not mandatory. NCS gave me the choice to keep it or not, I opted in just in case)
AN fee payment form (Download and print from gov.uk)
Passport fee payment form (From the booklet that comes along with the application picked up from post office)

What the Registrar did:
1. He had a NCS checklist cover page, wrote JCAP in big and bold on the top and then my basic details. It has various sections which he kept filling as he stepped though the various documentation.
2. AN form - Checked basic details front page, had quick glance thorough the forms to check it has all the pages, the previous addresses page with continuation on to page 22, the number of days outside uk page, counter signature pages.
3. Passport form - again basic checks as explained above in documents submitted
4. Asked if I would like to include ILR BRP original with the application for which I said no, so he reminded the new law that BRP should be returned within 5 days of the ceremony.
5. Took copies and returned all originals except the LIUT pass certificate.
6. Paid the extra £10 for JCAP using debit card.
7. He pasted the new JCAP barcode sticker on the passport application and my receipt (more on it below). Then went though a set of basic questions from a sheet called NCS Client care record all of which are actually covered in the AN form as well. Signed the original and I got a copy of it.
8. He confirmed that after the ceremony, the passport will be mailed to the home address and there is no passport interview.

Receipts received:
1. NCS Receipt - This had the Royal mail tracking number and details on home office contacts to where the AN form is being sent.
2. Local Authority Passport check Receipt - This has the new JCAP barcode sticker and also has the contact address of 'Team 24' in HMPO which he confirmed as being the separate team that deals with JCAP applications.
3. NCS Client care record copy
4. Receipt for the extra £10 payment for JCAP.

All together, it took 30 minutes - quite stress free experience.

Fees:
AN Naturalization = £1005
Passport = £72.50
NCS = £60

I will update the FEB timeline thread once everything starts moving.

[fielddrive]

Thanks for sharing ILR4PVM and all the best!

[zunera mahmood]

Hi .
I want to know when u applied through NCS Cheltenham. ..how did u book the appointment ..as the number given on the website is always busy ..or its out of order ..can u plz share the telephone number of the Gloucestershire Ncs..would highly appreciate it as I plan to book the same appointment AN +passport application together ...???
Is it a fast process than the normal application or does it takes the same time.

[narsii]

Given my BioMetrics @Lancing , WestSussex . Once I completed the process I had a chat with the staff about using a scanned copy of the Bio-Metrics letter . She told me that they accept the printed copies of the scanned document , if you don't have the original . The only condition was that the document must be clear .

Regards,
Narsii

Probably this may sound silly ,

I live in Worthing on the weekdays and my permanent address is in London .
Do I need to take the physical Bio-Metrics letter to the post office ?
Cant I scan it and take soft copy / print the scanned copy later and submit it to Postoffice for taking bio-metrics.

Technically the PO guys need the BARCODE-NUMBER . So this should be technically possible . Any experience guys ?

Regards,
Narsii

[Mik1983]

I applied through NCS under JCAP on 02/02/16. I have not received any acknowledgment and funds are still sitting in my account. Plus by reading different posts: it looks like most of you had tracking number from NCS to track delivery. I was not given this ref no. NCS only gave me Client care record copy and receipt for AN & Passport Fee. Do I need to Worry??? As it is over 10 days now and nothing moved at all.

[zahmed05]

Which NCS did you use?

It may take anther couple of days for payments to get deducted. I don't think you need to be worried at this stage.

[silentsmile]

Hi .
I want to know when u applied through NCS Cheltenham. ..how did u book the appointment ..as the number given on the website is always busy ..or its out of order ..can u plz share the telephone number of the Gloucestershire Ncs..would highly appreciate it as I plan to book the same appointment AN +passport application together ...???
Is it a fast process than the normal application or does it takes the same time.

AoA

Gloucestershire coucil send me email after one week time because i made that request for reasonable updates on time and dates so they replied me

" Good morning,

To make an appointment for the checking service please call us on 01242 532465. We will need to take the payment of £65 over the phone to book you in.

 

During the appointment we will photocopy your original documents and return the originals to you.

 

The passport form to apply for the passport can be sent out to you after you make the appointment, or alternatively you can pick one up from the Post Office.

 

Many thanks

 

Gloucestershire Registration Service

St George's Road

Cheltenham

GL50 3EW

Telephone: 01242 532465

Now after reading your post it's seem to me they are busy.

I would recommend if you don't get answer from them then try Wandsworth they are really nice and very helpfull guys .I have seen other threads too on good reviews for Wandsworth council. I have booked my appointment at Wandsworth and they have online system which is very helpfull and smooth.

References of processing speed mystery these days new pilot scheme and normal council NCS are on same time scale(near by) , so keep in touch on January time line. You will see progress and updates.


I hope above explanation helps on your case

[Mik1983]

Tunbridge Wells(kent)

[cs95tdg]

Plus by reading different posts: it looks like most of you had tracking number from NCS to track delivery. I was not given this ref no. NCS only gave me Client care record copy and receipt for AN & Passport Fee.

My tracking number was written by hand on the NCS receipt A4 sheet. You may want to check if the same was done on yours. If not you could call them to enquire, if your fee isn't deducted within the next couple of weeks.

[tamilmaran]

Dear ILR4PVM,
Thank you for your lovely descriptions. can I ask you some more questions please.
1) Did you take your tax return / P60 forms for last 5 years.
2) Did they take copies of all the pages in both of your passports.
3) Did you take any letter from your employer....?

Thanks in advance.

[Mik1983]

Plus by reading different posts: it looks like most of you had tracking number from NCS to track delivery. I was not given this ref no. NCS only gave me Client care record copy and receipt for AN & Passport Fee.

My tracking number was written by hand on the NCS receipt A4 sheet. You may want to check if the same was done on yours. If not you could call them to enquire, if your fee isn't deducted within the next couple of weeks.

Money just gone out today. Thank you for reply. Now waiting for biometric requests.

[ILR4PVM]

Dear ILR4PVM,
Thank you for your lovely descriptions. can I ask you some more questions please.
1) Did you take your tax return / P60 forms for last 5 years.
No. It is N/A as I am an employee paying tax as PAYE for the entire period. [I had provided my NI number and Tax office reference of my employer in the AN form which should be enough for any checks if need be.]
2) Did they take copies of all the pages in both of your passports.
No. Only the pages that have a visa vignette or an entry/exit stamp.
3) Did you take any letter from your employer....?
No. Being in employment is not a pre-requisite for naturalization.

Thanks in advance.

[tamilmaran]

Thank you ..!

[crimson76]

I wonder if they keep your original passports when you apply for naturalisation and passport at the same time ?

[zahmed05]

They return it after copying it.

[crimson76]

They return it after copying it.

In ordinary NCS, they do return the passports but then you need to sent original passports with your British passport application. Do they return passports When you apply for Naturalization and passport at the same time? Is this your first hand experience zahmed05?

[cs95tdg]

. Do they return passports When you apply for Naturalization and passport at the same time?

That's one of the advantages of the JCAP scheme. You don't need to send any original documents for either the AN or passport application. The NCS take photocopies, certify and send them with your applications. It's first hand experience as I received my passport directly in the post after naturalising last month. You don't need to send your naturalisation certificate, or attend an identity interview as part of the passport application process, as you would otherwise need to, either. There are several others who have now used this scheme and experienced this.