Applying for UK passport

[newpost]

Hi all,
Got my PR about 18 months ago. Could somebody post a step by step guide to apply for the UK passport please?

Thanks and Regards,
Newpost

[tekaweni]

What do you mean by "PR"? If you mean 'Permanent Residence' (also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain) then you arent yet a British citizen so will need to start with that..

Fill in and the application form AN_NEW, downloadable from the Home Office website and submit it, along with the £268 fee. You will need to find two referees who have known you for at least 3 years to support your application.

You can send your application by post but I'd strongly recommend you rather make an appointment with your nearest Nationality Checking Service centre who will check your form is properly filled in and submit it on your behalf (£35 fee for that). NCS applications are generally processed much faster than postal, usually weeks instead of months.

As for the passport itself, just go down to the Post Office and fill in a form. They offer a "check and send" service for about £5 which is also recommended.

Spend some time reading through the other posts on this board under the "timeline after submission" thread for loads of good advice.

Good luck!

[tekaweni]

I forgot to mention - before you can apply for citizenship you need to sit a test demonstrating your grasp of the English language and basic knowledge of life in the UK.

The cost of this test is about £33 (cant remember exactly), but again, read the comments others have made on this board and you'll find everything you need to know.

Cheers
Kim

[newpost]

Tekaweni/Moderator,

Thanks for your reply. As per my understanding after going through considerable number of pages. I figured out the following. Please let me know the following procedure is OK.

1. Download AN_NEW and fill up.
2. Take the English test.(Do I need to complete 2 before 1)
3. Submit my application at NCS.
4. Wait for a while to get the naturalisation certificate
5. Apply for the passport in the post office

Is this order OK?

I am thinking of writing a step by step guide once after familiarising the process myself elaborating the above steps including links and locations of NCS and English test. I do not think there is a complete step by step guide exist on this site. Please let me know if there one exist and make it sticky.

Regards,
Newpost

[tekaweni]

The test certificate must accompany your application form, so it needs to be done beforehand. You can buy the "Life in the UK" book on the high street or online. Only chapters 2, 3 and 4 are required for the test. Theres usually quite a high demand for appointments (ditto for NCS lately I hear) so I'd say phone your nearest test centre and book an appointment ASAP, and then attend to the rest of the application.

I agree, a sticky step-by-step guide with the appropriate links would be a good idea as the knowledge, although all here somewhere, is kinda spread out.

[John]

As regards studying for the Citizenship Test this book is recommended.

Newpost, as regards your no. 4, "Wait for a while to get the naturalisation certificate", what you will hope to get is a letter saying your application is successful. You will then need to attend a Citizenship Ceremony during which you will be handed your Certificate of Naturalisation.

Your no. 5, "Apply for the passport in the post office" .... as from a date later this year all first-time applicants for British Passports will need to attend in person to apply for their first British Passport. It will no longer be possible for first applications to be submitted over the counter at a Post Office.

By the time you have got the Citizenship Test out of the way this new provision about first passport applications will probably be in force.