Weekly travel, citizenship ceremony, BRP return and passport application

Hi there,

My naturalisation has been approved so now I need to start thinking about the citizenship ceremony, the BRP return and the passport application.

There is a complication in my case because I need to travel for business (temporarily for the next few months) on a weekly basis between London and Paris and my current passport is a Non-EU one so I need a passport to enter France and I need the ILR BRP to enter the UK.

Once I attend the citizenship ceremony and receive my naturalisation certificate, I need to return the ILR BRP within 5 days so I can't use that to enter the UK a week after the naturalisation ceremony. If I apply for the first British passport from inside the UK I need to send the original current passport so I won't be able to travel to France until I get my supporting documents back from HMPS. If I apply for the first British passport from France, I get to keep my original current passport but I still have to send my original naturalisation certificate and, without the ILR BRP (because I have to return it), I won't have a document with which I can enter the UK.

In short, I am in a pickle here.

So, here are my questions:

1. I know it can take up to 6 weeks to process the first British passport application from inside the UK. Can I request my original documents to be returned sooner than that? Could you please advise how long, on average, it takes to receive the original supporting documents back from HMPS? On average, how long is it taking these days to receive the first British passport for applications from inside the UK? I know it can be up to 6 weeks, but my question is what is the actual average duration.

2. Is there anyway I can apply for the first British passport from inside the UK and keep my current original passport? Can I provide a certified copy instead? Is there an equivalent of NCS/NDRS for first British passport application whereby I can keep my original passport with me? If I apply for the first British passport from France, can this cause the Home Office to re-open my naturalisation application and doubt my intention to settle in the UK and start asking new questions/documents?

3. Can I apply for the first British passport from France and keep my original naturalisation certificate? Any successful cases (here on this forum) of applying for the first British passport from outside the UK?

4. I read somewhere there are some provisos allowing to keep the BRP if one has a non-British child because the BRP may be needed to apply for the child's naturalisation/passport application? Could you please share the details of this? I have a UK-born already British son and another non-UK born non-British son (who has the ILR and for whom we will be applying for naturalisation soon).

5. I now I don't technically need a passport or the naturalisation certificate to enter the UK once I attend the ceremony and become British. I just need to get to the British border (which is possible since I am in France) and convince the border guards with proofs that I am British. Can I use my UK driving license or any other document for this? Surely they can look me up on their system. I realise this will take some time each time I cross the border.

Basically, what do you advise? Should I apply from inside or outside the UK? I can think of few scenarios. First: I take few weeks off work and stay in the UK to apply and get the first British passport (negative impact for business). Another option: I delay the naturalisation ceremony till Christmas (since I have 90 days to attend one) and take time off work during that period to minimise the impact (I am hesitant to do this because I want to attend the ceremony and become British as soon as possible, just in case something happens). Third option: I attend the ceremony asap but don't apply for passport until Christmas when I take time off work (this means long delays each time I cross the border and try to enter the UK with just the naturalisation certificate and without the UK passport). Final option: I apply for the first British passport from France and don't travel to UK until I get the British passport (but wife and kids are in London, so not a great option; also this may cause the Home Office to doubt my intention to settle, which is solid because my wife, kids and home is in the UK).

Any advice?

what about travelling between London and Paris via Ireland while the passport application is ongoing? is that an option?