Naturalisation application processing timelines (only)

[Cleo22]

Eligibility Criteria: ILR as a spouse
Current Nationality: Bulgarian
Method of application: by post, recorded delivery
Date of of Application: 18 October, 2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 19 October
Date of debit of fees: 16 November 2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 18 November
Date of approval : 3rd December 2013, letter arrived today, 5th December
Invitation for ceremony appointment: Waiting

Good luck to everyone!

[TTOE]

Hi Guys,

Just to mention what happened to my application which I hope will help some people.
I applied on 12/10/13. 5 or 6 weeks passed and there was no debit of fees from my account. Understandably I got worried and emailed UKBA. The first response was a very standard I guess 'Having checked our records there is no decision yet on your case'. My question however was have they actually received my application or not. To which they replied asking further details like DOB, ref number and so on. I sent another email with the info that they requested. Received the email from UKBA the same day saying that they have indeed received my application but they could not withdraw any money (this is despite having enough money on the account and bank telling me that there was no attempt to withdraw money). I could not be bothered arguing and asked if there was any other means of paying rather than relying on payment slip. I was told telephone payment is ok to which I happily agreed straight away. A lady called me the same day (all of these happened within the same day) and money was deducted from my account.
Take home message:
1. if it has been a while and no fees deducted - send an email to UKBA asking if there was an attempt to withdraw money
2. If yes but failed attempt - ask UKBA to pay by phone

P.S. still waiting for a decision

Which email ad and tel did you use to contact HO?

[Loveislovely]

Hi Guys,

Just to mention what happened to my application which I hope will help some people.
I applied on 12/10/13. 5 or 6 weeks passed and there was no debit of fees from my account. Understandably I got worried and emailed UKBA. The first response was a very standard I guess 'Having checked our records there is no decision yet on your case'. My question however was have they actually received my application or not. To which they replied asking further details like DOB, ref number and so on. I sent another email with the info that they requested. Received the email from UKBA the same day saying that they have indeed received my application but they could not withdraw any money (this is despite having enough money on the account and bank telling me that there was no attempt to withdraw money). I could not be bothered arguing and asked if there was any other means of paying rather than relying on payment slip. I was told telephone payment is ok to which I happily agreed straight away. A lady called me the same day (all of these happened within the same day) and money was deducted from my account.
Take home message:
1. if it has been a while and no fees deducted - send an email to UKBA asking if there was an attempt to withdraw money
2. If yes but failed attempt - ask UKBA to pay by phone

P.S. still waiting for a decision

Hi fatalist,

I believe that due to the overwhelming amount of applications made, it is likely that lots of mistakes will be made when trying to debit, it is possible that a wrong number was applied somewhere, causing the payment to fail. I applied 16/10, fees taken 9/11, I am still waiting. Good luck everyone.

[fulcrum1978]

Hi,

Can you share the email address that you corresponded through. The nationalityenquiries email has the same canned presentation "text" for all correspondence. I also worry that maybe the acknowledgement is delayed due to inability of UKBA to collect the fees as mentioned by you.
Please share some details of how you corresponded and with whom, so the rest of us (who doubt payment collection as a reason) can follow up.

So far I havent received an Acknowledgement even after 6 weeks (as stated in the nationality enquiry email) and am still waiting.

I sincerely hope that still the delay is due to volume and not fee collection issue.

[jotter]

Hi fulcrum1978,

I believe from your timeline that your application received the UKBA on Oct 24th. We've had 24 people in total so far posting on this forum that their applications were received on the 24th or 25th and none of them have had their fees debited yet. So your situation is 'normal', no need to worry yet. I think you can forget about 'typical' timelines at the moment due to the huge number of applications in October. Looking at other people's timelines who applied at the same time as you is a much better guide.

[fulcrum1978]

Thanks Jotter

[Scanner]

has anyone who submitted an application on the 22nd of October received a decision on their application yet?

[sarvosuper]

Friends,
I applied on the 22nd October and my application has been received by UKBA on 23/10/2013.

However no debit of fees has happened till today.

At which email id can I write to UKBA and in case of an option , pay by phone ? Will be greatful for a reply as I am now worried

[BGOGOI]

Eligibility criteria: dependant (5yr + 1yr ILR) (separated after ILR+ children without father's signature as father's whereabouts are unknown)
Current Nationality: Indian
Method of application: royal mail
Date of of Application: 16/10/2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 17/10/13
Date of debit of fees: 12/11/13
Date of receipt of acknowledgement:16/11/13
Date of approval : 27/11/13
Invitation for ceremony appointment: 4/12/13 dated 27/11/13
Date of ceremony : 08/01/2013....

....peace at last..it was quite smooth considering my complex case and huge backlog of applications..xxx

[sarvosuper]

Since I have had no debit of fees despite my application received by UKBA pn 23/10/2013 as tracked by Royal Mail tracking, I have send an email to UKBA ( NationalityHelpdesk@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk)and received the following automated reply from them :

Thank you for your email.

This mailbox is for general enquiries not answered by the Nationality Enquiries mailbox.
We aim to responds in two working days for status updates, and five working days for more complex queries

This mailbox will not be able to organise priority treatment of your application or a guarantee of when a decision will be reached
UKBA team

Will wait to hear from them and then post the update .

[Loveislovely]

Eligibility criteria: dependant (5yr + 1yr ILR) (separated after ILR+ children without father's signature as father's whereabouts are unknown)
Current Nationality: Indian
Method of application: royal mail
Date of of Application: 16/10/2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 17/10/13
Date of debit of fees: 12/11/13
Date of receipt of acknowledgement:16/11/13
Date of approval : 27/11/13
Invitation for ceremony appointment: 4/12/13 dated 27/11/13
Date of ceremony : 08/01/2013....

....peace at last..it was quite smooth considering my complex case and huge backlog of applications..xxx

Hi BGOGOI,

Congrats on receiving your citizenship, do you mind sharing with us the complexity of your case? Thanks in advance.

Loveislovely

[Jasper_X]

Eligibility criteria: 5 Years + 12 months ILR (although actually 9 Years)

Method of application: Post (Special Delivery)

Date of application: 5/10/2013

Date of receipt by UKBA: 6/10/2013

Date of acknowledgement letter: 22/10/2013 (Dated 19/10/2013)

Date of debit of fees: 19/10/2013

Date of approval: ?

Date of Ceremony: ?

[masjam]

Eligibility criteria: 10yr + 1yr ILR
Method of application: NCS Wandsworth
Date of receipt by UKBA: 24/10/2013
Date of debit of fees: 18/12/2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: Not Yet
Date of receipt of approval: Not Yet
Date of Ceremony: Not Yet

Finally my balance dropped this morning and HO debited fee from my account

[dsds]

Eligibility criteria:3Years ILR granted 23/10/13

Method of application: Post (Special Delivery)

Date of application: 24/10/13

Date of receipt by UKBA:25/10/2013

Date of acknowledgement letter: 19/11/2013

Date of debit of fees: 18/11/2013

Date of approval: 05/12/13

Date of Ceremony: yet not booked

[tier_2_applicant]

Eligibility criteria: WP + Tier 1 + 1 year ILR
Language criteria met (UK degree, exempt countries, PBS used documents, NARIC, or B1 test): PBS, degree and certificate from college
Current nationality: Indian
Method of application: NCS
Council name if NCS used: Sutton
Date of application: 6th December 2013
Payment method CC/DC, Personal cheque, Bankers cheque etc: DC
Date of receipt by UKBA: 10th December 2013
Date of aknowlegment: 21st January 2014
Date of debit or clearance of fees: 18th January 2014
Date approval received:
Date of ceremony:

[zombie2012]

[quote="Ablo205"][quote="tronca33"][quote="zombie2012"]Has anybody applied on 16 October 2013 onward got approved?[/quote]
I was ,but my approval come on 21 November,and my Ceremony are on 9th January...
Hope your is coming soon.[/quote]
My was 14 October and approval on 18 november[/quote]
=================

I sent an email to UKBA enquirers yesterday for my application's update, received following reply from HO today,


Thank you for your email.

I have checked our records and can confirm that no decision has yet been made on your application.

We aim to process 95% of applications within 6 months however there are a small percentage of applications that take longer than this to be resolved.

All applications for citizenship are subject to enquiries to ensure that the statutory requirements have been satisfied. Because of these enquiries, we anticipate that applications may take up to six months to complete. Some applications may be dealt with more quickly and some may take longer, depending on the nature of the enquiries to be carried out. Our service standards set out how quickly we aim to decide applications for British citizenship. The standard is that we will decide 95% of applications within six months.

When the decision is made, or if we require further information from you, we will contact you in writing.

Please ensure you notify us promptly if you change your address. Your address can be updated here:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/about ... y-details/

If you require any documents back, these can be requested here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/about ... documents/. Requesting documents will not negatively impact on the application.

Kind regards,

[dr_me]

Eligibility criteria:3Years ILR granted 23/10/13

Method of application: Post (Special Delivery)

Date of application: 24/10/13

Date of receipt by UKBA:25/10/2013

Date of acknowledgement letter: 19/11/2013

Date of debit of fees: 18/11/2013

Date of approval: 05/12/13

Date of Ceremony: yet not booked

dsds are you sure that dates mentioned in you timeline are correct? You are luck as none of 24-25th OCt applicants have received even acknowledgement and yours is approved. Congratulations

[consciousness]

Eligibility criteria:3Years ILR granted 23/10/13

Method of application: Post (Special Delivery)

Date of application: 24/10/13

Date of receipt by UKBA:25/10/2013

Date of acknowledgement letter: 19/11/2013

Date of debit of fees: 18/11/2013

Date of approval: 05/12/13

Date of Ceremony: yet not booked

Congratulations dsds! Can you specify the approval letter date and the approval letter received?

[Summer14]

Eligibility criteria:3Years ILR granted 23/10/13

Method of application: Post (Special Delivery)

Date of application: 24/10/13

Date of receipt by UKBA:25/10/2013

Date of acknowledgement letter: 19/11/2013

Date of debit of fees: 18/11/2013

Date of approval: 05/12/13

Date of Ceremony: yet not booked

dsds are you sure that dates mentioned in you timeline are correct? You are luck as none of 24-25th OCt applicants have received even acknowledgement and yours is approved. Congratulations

Congrats dsds!

Its seems that UKBA didn't take a brake in dealing with the applications as I thought. I haven't seen any updates regarding the 24-25th Oct applications... I hope they will process them in the order that they were received...

Best of luck to all!

[pinkpanter]

Eligibility criteria:3Years ILR granted 23/10/13

Method of application: Post (Special Delivery)

Date of application: 24/10/13

Date of receipt by UKBA:25/10/2013

Date of acknowledgement letter: 19/11/2013

Date of debit of fees: 18/11/2013

Date of approval: 05/12/13

Date of Ceremony: yet not booked

Hurrayyeee !!!

dsds, did you received your approval letter with all documents TOGETHER in same Special delivery envelope or they sent to you only approval letter in a brown envelope and waiting for documents? please would be grateful if you could advice?

[amit_shah21]

Dear All,

I posted my application on 22/10/13 and it was received by UKBA on 23/10/13, Money debited on 03/12/13 and acknowlegement recived stating Date 03/12/13

1) Does it mean my application was being considered from 03/12/13 and not from received date 23/10/13
2) Do I go under new rules reflected from 28/10/13


Thanks
amit

[jotter]

Dear All,

I posted my application on 22/10/13 and it was received by UKBA on 23/10/13, Money debited on 03/12/13 and acknowlegement recived stating Date 03/12/13

1) Does it mean my application was being considered from 03/12/13 and not from received date 23/10/13
2) Do I go under new rules reflected from 28/10/13


Thanks
amit

No, what matters is when the UKBA received your application. You'll be assessed under the old rules.

[Yulichka]

Hi guys, a quick question, not sure if anyone else came across this kind of pickle, I have obtained a Bachelor degree from university in the UK, however, my advisor "kindly" laminated it, would it make it invalid for my Naturalisation application? (this was 6 years ago.)

I have previously submitted it to UKBA and it was fine, they didn't raise any quires, but I wonder if NCS would have different approach and would not put it through to UKBA.

Thank you for your responses in advance!

[jotter]

Hi guys, a quick question, not sure if anyone else came across this kind of pickle, I have obtained a Bachelor degree from university in the UK, however, my advisor "kindly" laminated it, would it make it invalid for my Naturalisation application? (this was 6 years ago.)

I have previously submitted it to UKBA and it was fine, they didn't raise any quires, but I wonder if NCS would have different approach and would not put it through to UKBA.

Thank you for your responses in advance!

Could you please open up a new separate topic for your question, as this topic is for timelines.

[thirdlioness]

Hi guys, a quick question, not sure if anyone else came across this kind of pickle, I have obtained a Bachelor degree from university in the UK, however, my advisor "kindly" laminated it, would it make it invalid for my Naturalisation application? (this was 6 years ago.) I have previously submitted it to UKBA and it was fine, they didn't raise any quires, but I wonder if NCS would have different approach and would not put it through to UKBA. Thank you for your responses in advance!

Hi, somebody in the October timeline posted about laminated non UK marriage certificate. She had mentioned that she checked with Home office. I don't remember how she checked it though. She submitted with NCS Westminister that much I remember. You will have to scroll through the pages on the October 2013 forum for more info. I have an undergrad degree certificate from India which is laminated, it was accepted for my Tier 1 application and the UK Naric. Hope it helps.