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UKM application experience and timeline

A section for posts relating to applications for Naturalisation or Registration as a British Citizen. Naturalisation

Moderators: Casa, push, JAJ, ca.funke, Amber, zimba, vinny, Obie, EUsmileWEallsmile, batleykhan, meself2, geriatrix, John, ChetanOjha, archigabe

RNC
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South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by RNC » Tue Oct 16, 2018 1:38 pm

My timeline is as follows:

Eligibility criteria: UKM
Nationality: South Africa
Applying from: South Africa, Johannesburg
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 06/08/2018
Payment method: Credit card
Date of receipt by UKBA: 23/08/2018
Date money gone off account: 06/08/2018
Date of acknowledgement: 07/08/2018
Date of letter requesting biometrics: Still waiting
Biometrics done: TBA
Date of approval: TBA
Date of ceremony: TBA
Date applied for passports: TBA
Date passports received: TBA

2 months, 10 days since Application, hoping for Biometric request

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hlassell
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Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by hlassell » Fri Oct 19, 2018 3:37 pm

Received an email yesterday asking for my ex-spouse's name, birthdate and nationality.

Also to confirm my address since aug 20, 2018 to today. That was odd I thought.

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hlassell
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Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by hlassell » Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:40 am

Completed my biometrics yesterday! :)

pinhead
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Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by pinhead » Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:56 pm

Eligibility criteria: UKM
Nationality: Canadian
Applying from: UK
Method of application: Post
Date of application: 10/07/2018
Payment method: Credit card
Date of receipt by UKBA: 11/07/2018
Date money gone off account: 22/07/2018
Date of acknowledgement: none
Date of letter requesting biometrics: 22/07/2018
Biometrics Completed: 26/07/2018
Date of approval: 01/10/2018
Date of ceremony: 07/11/2018

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hlassell
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Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by hlassell » Thu Nov 08, 2018 8:47 pm

Eligibility criteria: UKM
Nationality: Canadian
Applying from: Canada
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 08/20/2018
Payment method: Credit card
Date of receipt by UKBA: 08/21/2018
Date money gone off account: 08/20/2018
Date of acknowledgement: 08/21/2018 (by email)
Date of letter requesting biometrics: 09/10/2018
Biometrics done: 11/06/2018
Date of approval:
Date of ceremony:
Date applied for passports:
Date passports received:

Shaun45
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Posts: 96
Joined: Fri May 26, 2017 10:49 am
South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by Shaun45 » Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:19 am

I did my biometrics in Cape Town, South Africa on the 3rd of August this year. I haven't heard a word from UKVI since then. Some people went a lot quicker from biometrics to approval letter. Should I be worried?

PleasantThebest
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Posts: 96
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:29 am
South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by PleasantThebest » Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:32 am

Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:19 am
I did my biometrics in Cape Town, South Africa on the 3rd of August this year. I haven't heard a word from UKVI since then. Some people went a lot quicker from biometrics to approval letter. Should I be worried?
Your decision letter and documents could be in the process of traversing our utterly shocking postal system, hence the delay

Shaun45
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Posts: 96
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South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by Shaun45 » Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:21 am

I do understand the poor postal service but you should get an approval email first. I have heard absolutely nothing since my biometrics. Perhaps I'm being too hasty and must just wait longer.

PleasantThebest
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South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by PleasantThebest » Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:36 am

Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:21 am
I do understand the poor postal service but you should get an approval email first. I have heard absolutely nothing since my biometrics. Perhaps I'm being too hasty and must just wait longer.
As far as I'm aware.. you don't receive an "approval" email.. it just arrives in the post. Unless you request an update and then its the generic response "we have sent communication..."

Shaun45
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South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by Shaun45 » Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:00 am

From what I have read you do receive an approval email and an approval letter in the post. Further communication regarding your citizenship ceremony is via email.

PleasantThebest
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South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by PleasantThebest » Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:23 am

Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:00 am
From what I have read you do receive an approval email and an approval letter in the post. Further communication regarding your citizenship ceremony is via email.
Maybe you are confusing the approval letter and the ceremony invite.

Shaun45
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South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by Shaun45 » Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:36 am

If that's the case I find it bizarre that UKVI would correspond with you to book your biometrics via email yet the most important letter of them all they will solely rely on the postal service to communicate such an important life event. In other words an important approval letter can get lost in the post and you will have absolutely no way of knowing.
Last edited by Shaun45 on Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

PleasantThebest
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South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by PleasantThebest » Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:37 am

Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:36 am
If that's the case I find it bizarre that UKVI would correspond with you to book your biometrics yet the most important letter of them all they will solely rely on the postal service to communicate such an important life event. In other words an important approval letter can get lost in the post and you will have absolutely no way of knowing.
Yup.. this has crossed my mind many times. I am also waiting to receive mine (although for UKF). Good luck with your application :)

IntrepidShepherd
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South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by IntrepidShepherd » Fri Nov 09, 2018 12:20 pm

Hi all

Have just completed UKM online application. At the end you get a document checklist and it explicitly states: "any evidence you provide can be originals or copies. If we require passports, these must be original"

It seems people have sent certified copies but has anyone done the online process and submitted copies?

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hlassell
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Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by hlassell » Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:19 pm

IntrepidShepherd wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 12:20 pm
Hi all

Have just completed UKM online application. At the end you get a document checklist and it explicitly states: "any evidence you provide can be originals or copies. If we require passports, these must be original"

It seems people have sent certified copies but has anyone done the online process and submitted copies?
I did the online application too. I sent originals of everything except for my passport. I sent a copy and explained that I travel between Canada and USA 4-6 times a year and can't be without it. So far I've gotten to the biometrics stage and haven't had any issues.

sunburn
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United States of America

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by sunburn » Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:32 pm

I sent a color photocopy of my US passport. I didn't even send a certified copy. I don't yet know if that's ok since I haven't received a biometrics appointment, but I think others have sent just a regular copy and they've been fine with it. I did have a cover letter where , like hlassell, I explained that I travel regularly.

rhino57
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Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by rhino57 » Sat Nov 10, 2018 5:24 am

I did my application with an agency in London, but had to gather and send all of my documents to them. I didn't discover this forum until after I started that process.
I sent all certified copies of certificates (birth, marriage), but only color copies (non-certified or notarized) of both my and my parents passports. I only sent the picture page. I didn't offer any explanation (as I didn't think I needed to). I worried when I read on this forum that my passport copy should have been notarized.
I applied for citizenship through the Romein decision (maternal grandfather born in UK, mother born in USA, me born prior to 1983 in USA).
I sent my application on July 9th and received my approval letter on September 20th.(Did receive a postal letter on approval, not an email)
I haven't read a lot of decisions based on Romein and I think there are many on this topic that have applied under this change, so I wanted to let you know that it is processing, and at least for me it was successful.
I am now waiting for my ceremony invitation - won't feel totally comfortable until the ceremony is scheduled.
Good luck!!

Shaun45
Junior Member
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri May 26, 2017 10:49 am
South Africa

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by Shaun45 » Sat Nov 10, 2018 6:36 am

How the heck did yours go so quick? As mentioned I applied in the beginning of August and I haven't heard a word. Nothing. There seems like a lot of inçonsistancy for the timelines between applicants. Some quick, some take ages.

rhino57
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Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by rhino57 » Sat Nov 10, 2018 4:56 pm

I totally share your surprise at the speed of the process. I was really not expecting to hear anything until the end of the year, having prepared for a 4-6 month timeline. I don't have any idea what speeds things up or slows things down, but wonder if as time goes on there aren't more applications coming in and so everything slows some. That doesn't explain your timeline as your application was not long after mine. I got my biometrics request email on July 26th, and did them in the US on August 10th. I then figured it was settle in and wait and 6 weeks later I had the approval letter. Now I wait for the ceremony invite.
Anyone care to share how long they waited for their ceremony invitation after their approval letter arrived? And did the invite come via email? Post? Phone?
Thanks!

balles
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Posts: 39
Joined: Wed May 23, 2018 11:48 am
Somalia

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by balles » Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:34 pm

I received confirmation today (7 November 2018) that my application for British citizenship had been approved. This has been a 6-month journey starting on 21 May 2018 when my application was submitted. My claim to British citizenship was based on my British born maternal grandfather. It is my hope that my experiences and learnings will assist others as they embark on their own journeys.

I was born in The Republic of South Africa in 1965 to a mother who was born British by descent. South Africa at the time of my birth had voluntarily left The Commonwealth of Nations and therefore was “foreign” in its relation to Britain. The aforementioned resignation from The Commonwealth by the South African government of the day is important in defining who may or who may not register as a British citizen insofar as SA applicants go.

Legislation at the time of my birth did not permit my mother to register my birth at the British Consulate. My application therefore was identical to that of Romein case ( The Advocate General for Scotland (Appellant) v Romein (Respondent) (Scotland) [2018] UKSC 6 On appeal from [2016] CSIH 24), save for my date of birth, and which is now subject to a remedial order before parliament.

I used an agent for my application but in retrospect I would have done it myself. Unless you find “form filling” & answering a set of questions about your family tree intellectually challenging my advice would be to do it yourself and, in the process, save yourself some money. The financial loss in a failed UKM registration process are zero as in such instance you would be refunded the GBP80 by the Home Office. Sadly, many of these immigration advisors scare you into believing that double descent applications are non-standard and require their magical powers to “educate” a caseworker at The Home Office on your unique set of circumstances. Personally, I think it is an insult on their (caseworkers’) ability. Sure, I don’t doubt for one moment that there may be complex cases to consider but for 95% of these such as mine I would think that they are straightforward. The caseworker guidance notes were updated on the 8 February 2018 (the same date that the supreme court judgment was given) to alert caseworkers to ignore the requirement of the applicant’s birth to be registered within a year.

Timeline summary was as follows:
• Country of application: South Africa
• Application couriered to UKVI in Liverpool: 21 May 2018 (manual submission)
• Credit card payment deduction: 26 June 2018
• Biometrics request letter: 27 June 2018 but received on 10 July 2018
• Biometrics submitted: 23 July 2018
• Notification of citizenship approval: 7 November 2018
• Citizenship ceremony: scheduled for 28 November 2018 at British High Commissioner’s residence in Pretoria (NOTE – Only received notification of successful application directly from Foreign & Commonwealth Office and not from Home Office)

Timeframe from application submission to citizenship ceremony would be just over 6 months.

balles
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Posts: 39
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Somalia

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by balles » Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:40 pm

Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:19 am
I did my biometrics in Cape Town, South Africa on the 3rd of August this year. I haven't heard a word from UKVI since then. Some people went a lot quicker from biometrics to approval letter. Should I be worried?
I wouldn’t be worried – my biometrics were done on 10 July 2018 and notification received bout successful outcome on 7 November 2018.

balles
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Somalia

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by balles » Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:43 pm

Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:21 am
I do understand the poor postal service but you should get an approval email first. I have heard absolutely nothing since my biometrics. Perhaps I'm being too hasty and must just wait longer.
I recieved an approval letter and invitaion to ceremony directly from The Foreign & Commonwealth Office. This was emailed to me - Nothing posted by surface mail.

balles
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Somalia

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by balles » Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:46 pm

PleasantThebest wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:37 am
Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:36 am
If that's the case I find it bizarre that UKVI would correspond with you to book your biometrics yet the most important letter of them all they will solely rely on the postal service to communicate such an important life event. In other words an important approval letter can get lost in the post and you will have absolutely no way of knowing.
Yup.. this has crossed my mind many times. I am also waiting to receive mine (although for UKF). Good luck with your application :)
Relax - you should receive an approval letter & inviation to cermeony by email (well in my case I did).

KZ303
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Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by KZ303 » Sun Nov 11, 2018 11:04 pm

balles wrote:
Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:46 pm
PleasantThebest wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:37 am
Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:36 am
If that's the case I find it bizarre that UKVI would correspond with you to book your biometrics yet the most important letter of them all they will solely rely on the postal service to communicate such an important life event. In other words an important approval letter can get lost in the post and you will have absolutely no way of knowing.
Yup.. this has crossed my mind many times. I am also waiting to receive mine (although for UKF). Good luck with your application :)
Relax - you should receive an approval letter & inviation to cermeony by email (well in my case I did).
How long after your processing was done before you received an email? I've received an email that my processing is done, but they won't say yet what the status is! I've got a courier in Liverpool scheduled to pick up my paperwork and send it back next week, so I'll see if there's a letter in there or not. Just odd they wouldn't tell me when they notified me that processing was done.

balles
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Posts: 39
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Somalia

Re: UKM application experience and timeline

Post by balles » Mon Nov 12, 2018 8:01 am

KZ303 wrote:
Sun Nov 11, 2018 11:04 pm
balles wrote:
Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:46 pm
PleasantThebest wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:37 am
Shaun45 wrote:
Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:36 am
If that's the case I find it bizarre that UKVI would correspond with you to book your biometrics yet the most important letter of them all they will solely rely on the postal service to communicate such an important life event. In other words an important approval letter can get lost in the post and you will have absolutely no way of knowing.
Yup.. this has crossed my mind many times. I am also waiting to receive mine (although for UKF). Good luck with your application :)
Relax - you should receive an approval letter & inviation to cermeony by email (well in my case I did).
How long after your processing was done before you received an email? I've received an email that my processing is done, but they won't say yet what the status is! I've got a courier in Liverpool scheduled to pick up my paperwork and send it back next week, so I'll see if there's a letter in there or not. Just odd they wouldn't tell me when they notified me that processing was done.
I wouldn’t know as the only correspondence I received was the letter confirming successful application & ceremony. I did not receive correspondence from UKVI that a decision had been reached

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