TIMELINE AFTER NATURALISATION APPLICATION SUBMISSION

agganesh wrote:

RajUK wrote:

joshualevy84 wrote:

RajUK wrote:Hi all,

Im in a bit of a situation, I would like some advice on what's need to be done.

Citizenship

NCS or Postal : Postal
Date of submission or posting : 30 Mar 07
CRITERIA : 5 yr stay + 3 yr ILR
Date of debit of debit/credit card : 02 April 07
Date of receipt of acknowledgement : 13 May 07
Date of receipt of approval : ...Still waiting...
Date of Ceremony : N/A
Date of appln. for passport : N/A
Method used : N/A
Date of Receipt : N/A

so far I have been waiting for about 10 months, I have red that people waited to 13 months to get approved.
What can I do? everytime i call they say its still waiting for checks.
the only thing i may add here is that i have gone back to India but for business for 4 months, should that delay my application?
lastly, should I be worried as the situation stands?

Many thanks in advance,
Raj

Hi Raj i think they are doing character checks thats called a LEVEL 3 and does take some time...also the 4 month trip may set you in the red for no of absences...

you should call them and ask for supervisor they have the power to contact your caseworker and supply you with a bit more info about ur case

Thank you so much joshualevy84 for your prompt response.
may I just ask if we consider fact that my application maybe refused, why dont they get me out of my misery and tell me that?
will I be allowed to reapply again if that's the case?

Hi Raj,

I know what you are going through. I had to wait 10 months to get a decision but finally got it right. I don't know the reason why they took so long to complete my application.

From my point of view you don't need to make calls and try to get information which is waste of time. You will get the decision very soon. All the best.

Hi,
Just to let you all know that today 18/01/08 I just received my approval letter and i have already booked my ceremony withy Hounslow council. Many thanks for your help and good luck to everyone else.

Booked my private ceremony for Tuesday 22nd January. Thanks and good luck to all of you!!!

Citizenship

NCS or Postal : NCS
Date of submission or posting : 18 Oct 07
CRITERIA : 10 yr stay + 1 yr ILR
Date of debit of debit/credit card : 21 Oct 07
Date of receipt of acknowledgement : 23 Oct 07
Date of receipt of approval : 26th Jan 08 (by 2nd class post from Royal mail)
Date of Ceremony : Yet to book..
Date of appln. for passport : N/A
Method used : N/A
Date of Receipt : N/A

I got my approval today after 3 months and 5 days I have been visiting this forum regularly and would like to thank everyone who posts on here I have found it very informative.
If anyone has got an idea of how long its taking to get 1st time passport after application I would very much like to know.
Thanks all.

since no one has mentioned anything about passport interviews, can i just add -

applied for first time uk passport - 14th Jan (postal)
Money was taken from card on - 18th January.
Recv letter for personal interview - 25th Jan.
Interview - 26th Jan

(at the interview, the lady was not very pleased that I don't remember my dad/mom birthday without checking a scrap of paper. I honestly don't remember any important dates often causing friction in our household !!!)

May be check and send application is the quick way to do it.

I am yet to get my supporting documents !

Best

UPDATE - recvd supporting docs on 28/01/2008 and passport on 29/01/2008

ukwannabe wrote:since no one has mentioned anything about passport interviews, can i just add -

Have you just got citizenship and now you have to go for passport interview? Funny that they do not interview you for citizenship, but do then want to do it for the travel document.

Guys I need some clarification please, I am in the process of filling out the passport application form and on it says that for 1st time applicants you need to send the naturalisation certificate and " The passport in which you entered UK"
Is this passport in which I entered the UK the first time I came into the country 11 yrs ago(which is now expired), or is it my current passport.
I called the passport application help line the women on the other end wasnt sure , she said send all the passports that you have.
I would appreciate as to how others have done it.

Thanks

Hi all,

Could any one be kind enough to share his/her experience of getting his/her naturalisation application successful after starting the external checks and how long did it take in total after submitting the application. Please tell me the difference in character checks and external checks and why some people get character checks and other get external checks and some even don't get any thing and their application get through in less than 2 months. I submitted my application for naturalisation on the basis of 10 years long residence and 1 year ILR and it is nearly 4-months completing. Whenever, I phone to the enquiry line about the application's progress, I get the answer that "waiting for external checks" and no more. I got only one letter and that was acknowledegment letter within one week of submitting my application. Would you please tell me what these checks are and how long do they take in this case. Any other experience and advice, you would like to share with me. your help would be much appreciated. I can't even sleep thinking about lingering the application beyond 6-months.

Many Thanks

Frustated

Oh dear, oh dear.... I was waiting for 13 months. and now I am fine Just to add to my history: after 8 months I complained to my MP and wrote a letter to BIA- with the same result "waiting for external checks/good character checks which is the same" My MP suggested to contact him again if afer 12 months I will have no result - what I did promptly at 12 months date of my waiting. After couple of weeks I've got a call from BIA! They said they,re sorry my application was overlooked etc and in few days I received my approval! BIA own Guidelines stated that after 12 months if there is a MP request they should give to applicant a"priority flag" and I think that what happened with me! Hope that helps
Cheers

Just to summarize: BIA has a target to conclude 94 or 96% of all citizenship applications within 6 months. The unlucky 4 or 6% of applications go to the so -called "lay by" which is a kind of archive or forgotten dusty shelf - and then time varies. One guy from this forum was waiting (and maybe still waiting) for 18 months! MP could help but if yor application is over 12 months old.
Cheers

chico1 wrote:Guys I need some clarification please, I am in the process of filling out the passport application form and on it says that for 1st time applicants you need to send the naturalisation certificate and " The passport in which you entered UK"
Is this passport in which I entered the UK the first time I came into the country 11 yrs ago(which is now expired), or is it my current passport.
I called the passport application help line the women on the other end wasnt sure , she said send all the passports that you have.
I would appreciate as to how others have done it.

Thanks

I sent both.

drabix1 wrote:Just to summarize: BIA has a target to conclude 94 or 96% of all citizenship applications within 6 months. The unlucky 4 or 6% of applications go to the so -called "lay by" which is a kind of archive or forgotten dusty shelf - and then time varies. One guy from this forum was waiting (and maybe still waiting) for 18 months! MP could help but if yor application is over 12 months old.
Cheers

Guys

Could you please help me by sharing your experience and thoughts with external checks. What are these and how long does it take for the application to approve, once the external checks starts. I applied for naturalisation based on 10 years long residence and 1 year ILR through NCS on 12th Oct 2007 and have not heared any thing from naturlaisation office after the receipt on 19th Oct 2007. When ever I phone, they say it is waiting for external checks.Could you please tell me that Is it normal for all applicants or exceptional?. yours reply would be highly appreciated.

Many Thanks

Hello Steve567,

i was wondering if your original passport was returned to you earlier and when was it returned to you.

I am finally applying for a passport for my wife and we plan to trvale towards the end of March, so as long as she gets back her Indian passport that is fine.
Will the Indian passport be returned within a week even if the British passport is provided in more than a month?
what was your experience?

Hi Everyone, I will appreciate if you brilliant members of this forum can please share or tell me your experience, how long it took the BIA, to deal with your naturalisation application after the first one was refused base on unspent conviction. I was told to re-apply, if i wish after the conviction has reached cleared period. This i did. And now the second application is now over 5 months and each time i call the enquiry line, i was told awaiting allocation to a case worker. And i apply via NCS in sept 13 2007. My concern now is, the application is not yet allocated, is this normal and usual or just mine? And will also appreciate, if someone can tell me the process from submission to decision of application. many thanks

I just submitted a stand alone registration application for my children as some may be looking for details here on that subject or may have some experience to share.

NCS or Postal: Postal
Date of submission or posting: 11 Feb 08
CRITERIA: s 3(1) Discretionary, minor under age 10 in UK (not eligible under any other section), father British after birth of children (s 4(c))
Nationality: USA
Date of debit of debit/credit card:waiting
Date of receipt of acknowledgement:waiting
Date of receipt of approval:waiting
Date of appln. for passport
Method used
Date of Receipt

Tried to do NCS but two local authorities said they do not do this for stand alone MN1 applications.

rogerroger wrote:Hello Steve567,

i was wondering if your original passport was returned to you earlier and when was it returned to you.

I am finally applying for a passport for my wife and we plan to trvale towards the end of March, so as long as she gets back her Indian passport that is fine.
Will the Indian passport be returned within a week even if the British passport is provided in more than a month?
what was your experience?

I have a similar problem as yours, my wife applied for british passport 3 weeks ago and haven't recieved back her indian passport , our journey is due mid of march. The passport office won't reveal the real situation and only say that she might get an interview.

I think it might be illegal to travel on an indian passport if you have already acquired british passport. I don't know where to get right advice on this.

revoo wrote:

rogerroger wrote:Hello Steve567,

i was wondering if your original passport was returned to you earlier and when was it returned to you.

I am finally applying for a passport for my wife and we plan to trvale towards the end of March, so as long as she gets back her Indian passport that is fine.
Will the Indian passport be returned within a week even if the British passport is provided in more than a month?
what was your experience?

I have a similar problem as yours, my wife applied for british passport 3 weeks ago and haven't recieved back her indian passport , our journey is due mid of march. The passport office won't reveal the real situation and only say that she might get an interview.

I think it might be illegal to travel on an indian passport if you have already acquired british passport. I don't know where to get right advice on this.

Your wife cannot travel on her Indian passport because she is no longer an Indian citizen and therefore her Indian passport is no longer valid. She ceased to be an Indian citizen the moment she became a British citizen during her citizenship ceremony.

revoo wrote:

rogerroger wrote:Hello Steve567,

i was wondering if your original passport was returned to you earlier and when was it returned to you.

I am finally applying for a passport for my wife and we plan to trvale towards the end of March, so as long as she gets back her Indian passport that is fine.
Will the Indian passport be returned within a week even if the British passport is provided in more than a month?
what was your experience?

I have a similar problem as yours, my wife applied for british passport 3 weeks ago and haven't recieved back her indian passport , our journey is due mid of march. The passport office won't reveal the real situation and only say that she might get an interview.

I think it might be illegal to travel on an indian passport if you have already acquired british passport. I don't know where to get right advice on this.

Just a few of quick questions re: passport applications..how long does it take after the application for an interview to be granted? Does it depend on the part of the country you apply from i.e. is it quicker in places where there are fewer 1st time applicants? When is your original passport actually returned to you? Is it after the interview, along with the new passport or earlier on in the process? Is check and send quicker than ordinary postal applications?

Dawie, I take your point re: the previous passport being void after the citizenship ceremony but I remember you saying (or it could be one of the other mods) somewhere that you'd actually travelled on you SA passport whilt waiting for your new passport to come through without any problems My situation is that I am due to travel abroad for a few weeks in mid March and was wondering whether it would be worth taking the risk of applying for the passport before travelling, as I would be caught out if my old passport is not returned on time. I need my new passport sooner rather than later as I need to apply for an OCI card, which I understand can take months and I am due to travel to India in a few months time..

thirdwave wrote: Dawie, I take your point re: the previous passport being void after the citizenship ceremony but I remember you saying (or it could be one of the other mods) somewhere that you'd actually travelled on you SA passport whilt waiting for your new passport to come through without any problems My situation is that I am due to travel abroad for a few weeks in mid March and was wondering whether it would be worth taking the risk of applying for the passport before travelling, as I would be caught out if my passport is not returned on time. I need my new passport sooner rather than later as I need to apply for an OCI card, which I understand can take months and I am due to travel to India in a few months time..

The key difference between my situation and his is that I did not lose my South African citizenship when I became a British citizen and therefore was, and still am, free to continue using my South African passport as and when I please.

Loss of Indian citizenship is automatic and retrospective when aquiring the citizenship of another country (i.e. you cease to be an Indian citizen from the time you acquire the other citizenship and not from the time the Indian government is informed) and therefore the use of an Indian passport in this situation is illegal because you are no longer an Indian citizen.

Of course the Indian government has no way of knowing that you have acquired the citizenship of another country, but if you are caught out....well, I hear Indian prisons aren't very pleasant places.

Dawie,I'm not travelling to India but to a third country for which I hold a valid visa.My query is:would the chaps in Immigration be aware of the fact that I have acquired British citizenship & my Indian passport MAY be void as a result?Could they bar me entry back into the country as a consequence?Has anyone from India travelled in such circumstances & returned without problems?
Also,how soon does the Pass Office usually return the original passport after application?

Who knows what information UK immigration holds about you. Returning to the UK you might very well encounter a switched-on immigration official who can see in their system that you are a British citizen AND you are travelling on an Indian passport. It wouldn't take much for them to come to the conclusion that these two facts are mutually exclusive and that you are therefore illegally travelling on a void passport.

But then again they might not. If you are willing to take the risk then go for it. Just remember that what you want to do is illegal and that there is a very small chance that you might be caught.

When I applied for a British passport after becoming a British citizen they returned my documentation, South African passport and my new British passport within a week of applying. Of course this was before they started the compulsory interviews for first-time applicants.

third wave

I need my new passport sooner rather than later as I need to apply for an OCI card, which I understand can take months and I am due to travel to India in a few months time..

why dont you apply for a PIO card, the embassy processes PIO cards in 3 weeks or you can apply for an indian visa and when you return you can apply for the PIO or OIC card.

rogerroger wrote:third wave

I need my new passport sooner rather than later as I need to apply for an OCI card, which I understand can take months and I am due to travel to India in a few months time..

why dont you apply for a PIO card, the embassy processes PIO cards in 3 weeks or you can apply for an indian visa and when you return you can apply for the PIO or OIC card.

Roger,
I don`t want to spend any more money on this immigration business than I have to but I`ll definitely consider the PIO card instead of the OCI if I am short on time..

lancoalase wrote:Hi Everyone, I will appreciate if you brilliant members of this forum can please share or tell me your experience, how long it took the BIA, to deal with your naturalisation application after the first one was refused base on unspent conviction. I was told to re-apply, if i wish after the conviction has reached cleared period. This i did. And now the second application is now over 5 months and each time i call the enquiry line, i was told awaiting allocation to a case worker. And i apply via NCS in sept 13 2007. My concern now is, the application is not yet allocated, is this normal and usual or just mine? And will also appreciate, if someone can tell me the process from submission to decision of application. many thanks

1-What have you been convicted for?
2-Have you mentioned all the details about it in your 1st application?

1-What have you been convicted for?
2-Have you mentioned all the details about it in your 1st application?

1. I was fine for drink driving.
2. The first application was refused based on the unspent fine conviction which i brought to their notice via a seperate letter after the application has been submitted, but not yet decided then.

rogerroger wrote:Hello Steve567,

i was wondering if your original passport was returned to you earlier and when was it returned to you.

I am finally applying for a passport for my wife and we plan to trvale towards the end of March, so as long as she gets back her Indian passport that is fine.
Will the Indian passport be returned within a week even if the British passport is provided in more than a month?
what was your experience?

I got back my old country's passport on next day after I received British passport. I bought secured delivery for both.