TIMELINE AFTER NATURALISATION APPLICATION SUBMISSION

[bgizzle]

Hi Folks,
My journey is complete. My timeline from NCS application through to passport receipt is outlined below. Best wishes to you all

NCS or Postal: NCS
If NCS, which centre: Chester
Date of submission or posting: 4th August 2009
CRITERIA - 10yrs + 1yr ILR
Date of receipt of Application @ HO: 5th August 2009
Date payment taken: 4th Aug 2009 (Transcash- immediately into HO a/c)
Date of receipt of acknowledgment: 12th August 2009 (Dated 7th Aug 09)
Date of receipt of approval: 12th September 2009 (Dated 4th Sept 09)
Date of Ceremony: 7th Oct 2009 (Earliest date available for Manchester)
Date of application for passport: 7th Oct 2009
Method used: Post Office Check & Send
Date of receipt of Interview letter: 15th Oct 2009
Date of receipt of Supporting Docs: 16th Oct 2009
Date of Interview: 19th Oct 2009
Date of Receipt of Passport: 21st Oct 2009

[yarons]

Hi Folks,
My journey is complete. My timeline from NCS application through to passport receipt is outlined below. Best wishes to you all

NCS or Postal: NCS
If NCS, which centre: Chester
Date of submission or posting: 4th August 2009
CRITERIA - 10yrs + 1yr ILR
Date of receipt of Application @ HO: 5th August 2009
Date payment taken: 4th Aug 2009 (Transcash- immediately into HO a/c)
Date of receipt of acknowledgment: 12th August 2009 (Dated 7th Aug 09)
Date of receipt of approval: 12th September 2009 (Dated 4th Sept 09)
Date of Ceremony: 7th Oct 2009 (Earliest date available for Manchester)
Date of application for passport: 7th Oct 2009
Method used: Post Office Check & Send
Date of receipt of Interview letter: 15th Oct 2009
Date of receipt of Supporting Docs: 16th Oct 2009
Date of Interview: 19th Oct 2009
Date of Receipt of Passport: 21st Oct 2009

Congrats! Must be a great feeling

[newhsmp]

Justice - many thanks for the quick response. I would have thought that the Life in the UK rule would not apply to HSMP applicants entering the UK before 2006 ( when rules were changed restrospectively).

Congrats to Bgizzle and others who have been naturalised ! This Forum is a huge help.

Hi,

A quick question :

Do applications who have qualified for ILR under the HSMP Judicial Review (JR) process need to pass the Life in UK test for naturalisation?

Many thanks in advance.

YES

[sac]

newhsmp,
the Life in the UK test exemption is for settlement (ILR) applications, not naturalisation.

the JR only applies to settlement, because that was the prize offered under the terms of the original HSMP.

[taliska]

I received a delivery today from a mail courier company however was not there to get the delivery on contacting them they did say it was from UKBA so fingers toes and everything else is currently crossed as I don't know if they are just returning my passports etc... to me (as i did a postal submission) or if there is also a decision. Will let the forum know tomorrow.

[sidster007]

Good luck Taliska although I suspect that they would probably at this early stage in your application be returning the supporting documentation. I also say this because the approval letter for one of my friends and indeed for a few people on this forum has come through normal 2nd class post.

However I hope you get good news. Do let us know tomorrow.

Cheers

Sidster007

[taliska]

well even if it may be my documents returning at least I know there is some progress. I am hesitant to contact the home office to ask though as I don't want to jinx my application

[sidster007]

Tell me about it Taliska...I've been on tenterhooks since the day I applied hoping and praying that my application is approved quickly...more so because I want to go home to India for Christmas and will need the time to take the ceremony, get the british passport and then get an Indian visa.

[racingfire]

Hi Taliska,

You are quite right not to contact HO, because I called HO again today @ 7:15 p.m to check whats the current status of my application and i am so surprised the lady who answered the phone said to me that , its the same status which we told you on 19/10/09.

So, thats make clear to me that HO keep the record of every enquiry you made. Now i will not call HO even if they will take another 3 months. I believe that i did mistake to calling them again and a little bit worried that might be it will effect on my application to being too anxious.

well even if it may be my documents returning at least I know there is some progress. I am hesitant to contact the home office to ask though as I don't want to jinx my application

[yarons]

Hi Taliska,

You are quite right not to contact HO, because I called HO again today @ 7:15 p.m to check whats the current status of my application and i am so surprised the lady who answered the phone said to me that , its the same status which we told you on 19/10/09.

So, thats make clear to me that HO keep the record of every enquiry you made. Now i will not call HO even if they will take another 3 months. I believe that i did mistake to calling them again and a little bit worried that might be it will effect on my application to being too anxious.

well even if it may be my documents returning at least I know there is some progress. I am hesitant to contact the home office to ask though as I don't want to jinx my application

I am hearing lately that people avoid from contacting HO to check up on their application progress worrying it'll have a negative effect on their application's outcome. Can someone please explain the rational behind this logic?
is it established on facts? other people's experience? some obscure HO guideline? or is it simply an illogical human "jinx" kind of thing?

[taliska]

possibly illogical or supersticious, but knowing how people who work in public service areas tend to react to being constantly asked questions about applications etc.. I think they sometimes can be somewhat weary of people who contact them a lot which can also result in them dragging their heels. Though I am not saying that this is always the case and sometimes things just take long as they are making detailed enquiries

[yarons]

possibly illogical or supersticious, but knowing how people who work in public service areas tend to react to being constantly asked questions about applications etc.. I think they sometimes can be somewhat weary of people who contact them a lot which can also result in them dragging their heels. Though I am not saying that this is always the case and sometimes things just take long as they are making detailed enquiries

Interesting. btw, do we have a good idea of what are those detailed enquiries HO performs? I know not all checks are performed for every application but I'm curious whether these are any different from other types of applications. By the time most people apply for citizenship, they have already gone through a few previous applications and I imagine most checks were already performed.

I would expect that ILR applications would have the most extensive check-list as granting someone a permanent leave to stay in the UK is not far off from granting citizenship in a sense that this person can stay for as long as he/she wants without ever applying for citizenship.

[sidster007]

I agree with Yarons 100%. By granting someone ILR you are in effect giving them the permission to make Britain their home and to settle here permanently. Therefore I was surprised to see them ask about my 5 year address history in the UK given that I submitted all this and more (council tax papers, utility bills, rental agreements etc) at the time of getting my ILR...before that I was on an HSMP or now Tier I migrant general visa for which I needed to prove that I met the "points" criteria on various grounds. Also since they have my previous home office reference number surely they should be able to access all this info...seriously how much could have changed in a year???

Does anyone know what process the HO follows while making the checks and exactly the level of detail to which they scrutinise. Be interesting to know. One of my friends who got his BC a few months ago told me that they didn't even call his referees. Just wondering what makes them dig
deeper on some applications and not on others. If they didn't all applications would take about the same amount of time. Also how much discretion does the case worker really have providing that you meet the statutory legal requirements.

[taliska]

remember naturalisation is always granted at the Home Secretarys discretion and therefore the caseworkers who represent the Home Secretary if concerned following the right procedure can make as many or as little enquires as they like or decline applications

[yarons]

remember naturalisation is always granted at the Home Secretarys discretion and therefore the caseworkers who represent the Home Secretary if concerned following the right procedure can make as many or as little enquires as they like or decline applications

Yes, no-one doubts that but what interests us is what sort of checks HO can perform which are different from enquiries in other applications and why weren't those performed during ILR ( which in my eyes should be the toughest status to get).

[sidster007]

Two things on my wish list (from the HO)-
1) They should have a dedicated section in the website that goes into some detail about the process they follow whilst processing a naturalisation application. Even a high level overview will do to ease anxiety among applicants. Based on what friends have told me the delays are mostly caused by the queing time to get to a case worker who then makes the decision

2) After paying £720 (wouldn't mind pay even £800) I think its not too much to expect an online status update every week ?! that can also be used to ask the applicant questions if need be or request for additional documentation. This will also save paper and cut down the processing time for applications where additional documentation is requested.

Any thoughts?

[sidster007]

Well Folks apparently Royal Mail is set to strike for three more days next week ! how pathetic is that !!

[mna8]

Update:

Update:

NCS or Postal: NCS, Leeds
Date of submission or posting: 26th Aug 2009
Application: Joint (Husband, wife and Child)
CRITERIA: 6 yr stay (5 yrs WP+HSMP + 1 yr ILR)
Date of receipt of Application @ HO: 27th Aug, 2009
Date of debit of debit/credit card: 01st Sept 2009
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 05th Sept 2009
Date of approval: 30th Sept 2009
Invitation Letter: 11th Oct 2009
Date of Ceremony: 22nd Oct 2009
Date of appln. for passport: 22nd Oct 2009
Interview for Passport : Waiting
Passport received: Waiting

[yarons]

Two things on my wish list (from the HO)-
1) They should have a dedicated section in the website that goes into some detail about the process they follow whilst processing a naturalisation application. Even a high level overview will do to ease anxiety among applicants. Based on what friends have told me the delays are mostly caused by the queing time to get to a case worker who then makes the decision

2) After paying £720 (wouldn't mind pay even £800) I think its not too much to expect an online status update every week ?! that can also be used to ask the applicant questions if need be or request for additional documentation. This will also save paper and cut down the processing time for applications where additional documentation is requested.

Any thoughts?

agree 100%. I think we can add premium service similar to the existing ILR same-day service to the list. I'm sure a lot of us would be happy to pay a bit extra and avoid the nail-biting wait.

One other more psychological aspect re the anxiety waiting for the decision. It seems to me that this should be the least worrying application for people with ILR as even if their application is refused it doesn't mean they will have to leave the UK or lose a benefit (apart from that red passport of course).

I suppose this wait is nerve wrecking as it is the last immigration application we will ever make to the HO and most of us would just want to end it after so many years

[taliska]

Thank God for Couriers....God Bless the Queen...Finally got it. Just have to attend the citizenship ceremony now

NCS or Postal: Postal
Joint Application AN for me and wife + 1 Child-appl MN1 section 3(1)
Date of submission or posting: 05/10/09 Arrived @HO 06/10/09
CRITERIA - 9 yr stay (3yr student + 5yrWP + 1 yr ILR)
Date of debit of debit/credit card: 09/10/09
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 14/10/09(Dated 9/10/09)
Date of receipt of approval: 22/10/09(dated 17/10/09) invitation letter same date
Date of Ceremony: tba
Date of appln. for passport
Method used
Date of Receipt

The decision letter and my documents came via courier. They tried to deliver yesterday but I was not home. The invitation letter came today via 2nd class post through Royal Mail. I have 14 days from the letter date to contact the council to arrange our ceremony. These letters are absolutely beautiful!!!!God Save The Queen.

I won't be rushing toward getting the passport as once i attend the ceremony I will be a citizen. I will update when I get the ceremony date tomorrow hopefully. Good luck to all those waiting

[yarons]

Thank God for Couriers....God Bless the Queen...Finally got it. Just have to attend the citizenship ceremony now

NCS or Postal: Postal
Joint Application AN for me and wife + 1 Child-appl MN1 section 3(1)
Date of submission or posting: 05/10/09 Arrived @HO 06/10/09
CRITERIA - 9 yr stay (3yr student + 5yrWP + 1 yr ILR)
Date of debit of debit/credit card: 09/10/09
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 14/10/09(Dated 9/10/09)
Date of receipt of approval: 22/10/09(dated 17/10/09) invitation letter same date
Date of Ceremony: tba
Date of appln. for passport
Method used
Date of Receipt

The decision letter and my documents came via courier. They tried to deliver yesterday but I was not home. The invitation letter came today via 2nd class post through Royal Mail. I have 14 days from the letter date to contact the council to arrange our ceremony. These letters are absolutely beautiful!!!!God Save The Queen.

I won't be rushing toward getting the passport as once i attend the ceremony I will be a citizen. I will update when I get the ceremony date tomorrow hopefully. Good luck to all those waiting

Wow! that was quick! Congrats!!

[sidster007]

Taliska that is marvellous to hear !! congrats mate...truly pleased for you...it gives me hope that mine will come through soon as well as I applied not too long after you.

Fingers crossed.

Sidster007

[taliska]

Yeah i know yarons i couldn't beleive it. Had a sleepless night last night thinking that it was just maybe my documents being returned and not a decision but thankfully I was wrong and I am so happy. This forum has been good support and I hope everyone gets a speedy response cause the wait can be unbearable

Thanks sidster007 i hope you get through soon

[sidster007]

Just to add to my last message...Taliska that is one of the quickest approvals I have seen on this forum. Would you mind sharing your nationality of origin with the forum?

[taliska]

I originally come ffrom one of the small ex-colony and commonwealth islands in the caribbean(i don't want to be specific just in case) But i think the family application including a child may be what made the difference as my child lived here since age 2.5 and now is 10 so doesn't know much else from the UK. Thinks also Postal applications are going quicker as many using NCS now so maybe there are separate teams who deal with these as a friend of mine from the seychelles who applied last year by post gave me the same sort of timeline when i asked him on the weekend. So it was accurate what he said.