Almost 12 months but no reply for british citizenship

Hi,

My husband applied for british citizenship in mid june 2011. An acknowledgement letter was sent to us mid july 2011. The payment was also taken. It has now been 11 months yet no reply from the HO regarding the application of british citizenship. In january 2012, we sent a letter asking whether they have sent anything which we might have not recieved or it might have got lost in the post. A member of staff from the HO called and replied to the letter saying that an investigation is being made in the application and therefore it could take more months. They cannot specify how long it would take.

We also tried calling the HO a several time, but everytime we call, we cannot get through to an advisor to ask about the application process, the call disconnects automatically after giving out information, hence we sent a letter in January.

Is there any suggestions as to why it is taking so long, or what we can do in this situation? Also, is there any contact number that we can call to enquire about the application process?

Please give some advice. Thank you.

Sweetnes, call again ASAP, but for the second option press 2 (not 1), and after a while you'll be transferred to a person. It's misleading, I know, but it works.

AlexS, okay i will try calling them again. But everytime i tried calling, it hangs up automatically. Do you know if i can call them on the weekends? Or are they open weekdays only?

Contact your MP and ask them to intervene for you. This usually gets things moving as the UKBA have to respond.

Casa, when you say contact the MP, do you mean to contact my local MP from the council?

Also, does anybody know whether travelling whilst waiting to recieve BC affects getting the BC in any way. And also, is it necessary to notify the HO about going abroad for a 2 months holiday, as we want to go on a holiday.

sweetness wrote:Casa, when you say contact the MP, do you mean to contact my local MP from the council?

I mean the Member of Parliament for your area. Here's the link. Enter your postcode in the 'your Representative' box and you'll see how to contact them. They will have a local 'surgery' where you'll be able to make an appointment to talk to them.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

Casa, thank you for your reply. I think i will try contacting the operators at HO via telephone a few more times. And will probably try contacting the MP after that.

I suspect his previous immigration history is the reason for this delay but it is difficult to say as for some reason you erased all your previous posts.

Ah Jambo! I always feel that having access to only part of the story is like going to the doctor's and asking him to guess where it hurts!

Now I'm totally confused. Sweetness, on the 10th June you posted this:
My husband has applied for permanent settlement in the UK (ILR). We went in person to the HO office to apply for his settlement in February.
Yet, it has been 12 weeks and we have not recieved a reply in any form.

Today you say your husband has been waiting for response to his BC application submitted in June 2011.

Which is correct?

Jambo, i'm sorry the previous posts are not displaying. I just realised that myself. One of my friends had access to this as they wanted to ask a question on their behalf, perhaps they didnt want to share it. Apologies.

Casa, as for your question, well, yes we applied for ILR. If you look at that post, it should be dated back 2010. We were granted with ILR. We then applied for british naturalisation in june 2011 and we have not heard anything from the HO regarding the naturalisation since. And this is what my query is about today as to what we should do or why it is taking so long.

sweetness wrote:Jambo, i'm sorry the previous posts are not displaying. I just realised that myself. One of my friends had access to this as they wanted to ask a question on their behalf, perhaps they didnt want to share it. Apologies.

Casa, as for your question, well, yes we applied for ILR. If you look at that post, it should be dated back 2010. We were granted with ILR. We then applied for british naturalisation in june 2011 and we have not heard anything from the HO regarding the naturalisation since. And this is what my query is about today as to what we should do or why it is taking so long.

It reads: Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 In this thread:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... ht=#489404

Casa, its my mistake. I didnt read properly and mistaken 10 as 2010
Posted: Tue May 10, 2011

* So yes we were granted ILR in May 2011, just few days after i had put that post up, the approval came through.
* And then in June 2011, we applied for naturalisation through NCS. We asked the advisor there, as to whether there were any problems with my husband travelling abroad for a few weeks to see his grieving mother. They said it wasnt a problem. So my husband went to see his mother who was very ill due to his father passing away.
* Received aknowledgement letter from HO mid July 2011.
* We sent a letter in January 2012, regarding the application, as to whether they had sent anything by post as we had not recieved anything.
* A week later in feb 2012, a guy on behalf of HO rang to stay that they were still investigating the application, and that it would take time. I asked how much more time? The guy replied, he doesnt know, it could be a few days or months.
* Up until today, we have not yet recieved the naturalisation/BC which is coming upto almost 1 year. We have tried calling HO several times but the automatically cuts off after providing information. So we have not been able to get through to an operator to ask about application progress.

I hope this all makes sense now Casa. Sorry for confusing you! And if you still have questions, i will be happy to answer them.

In 2009 you were issued with a Foreign ID card and granted a further 2 years to remain in the UK. If you were issued with ILR in May 2011, how did your husband qualify for BC in June 2011? One month after receiving ILR. I'm assuming you don't hold British Nationality?
As Jambo has said, it's difficult to advise by to tracking your history as you (or someone else with access to your account) has deleted your posts about the ILR applications.

He was in this country with a 5yr WP visa. He applied for a spouse visa which granted him to stay for 2 years and then he applied for ILR and it was granted. I have a british nationality but he doesnt. Based on that we applied for BC. Therefore, why cant he apply for BC?

I can understand where you are coming from, we probably should have waited a year or so in recieving the ILR to apply for BC, but we spoke to a few of the solicitors and they said, because he has lived here for total 7 years, he could apply for BC. Also, if this was an issue, then when we applied for BC through NCS, the people checking the application would have said something like we couldnt apply. We asked them regarding this matter. And they said it was fine. Based on that, they processed the application to BC.

sweetness wrote:He was in this country with a 5yr WP visa. He applied for a spouse visa which granted him to stay for 2 years and then he applied for ILR and it was granted. I have a british nationality but he doesnt. Based on that we applied for BC. Therefore, why cant he apply for BC?

When you mention 'we were granted ILR' and 'we applied for naturalisation' you mean your husband...not both of you, as you say you have British Nationality?

Casa, yes u are right. I meant my husband and not me. Sorry, i should have been more specific. I am british

My husband was granted with BC recently. Thought i would update the news. Good luck to others!