questions regarding filling applicaton form for naturalisati

Hello

I am filling in the application form for Natursalisation. I am not sure what i need to stick in for the date and place of first arrival in the United Kingdom. (section 3.1)

i came to the UK as a baby btut returned to India after a few year, last my residency in the process.

I returned to the UK on the 10th of January 1998 as a student, do i stick in that date, though i did return to India in the meantime for a short break, the last time i returned before the clock started(work permit period counting towards 5 years for residency requirements) was in october 1999.

also i was wondering in section 3.3, i guess i should state that i want to make the UNited Kingdom my principal home, not India, correct.

i guess i dont need to hand in any photographs, correct?

i just checked the immigration site
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en ... forms.html?

they have a new combined application and guide now. i donthink there are any changes to the application form, looks like they have added a few pages to the guide and then combined the application form with the guide, anybody thinks that is not correct?

I think it is the date you entered the UK on a work permit provided you are claiming citizenship based on a WP+ILR+1 year basis as most people here appear to be. I'm not sure about other situations.

yes i am going down the
WP+ILR+1 year route, i however was already in the UK on a student visa when i got my Work Permit, in that case what date do i mention?

i think the notes say you should put in the date you came to settle in the UK. You must have entered the UK after getting the work permit when the immigration officer at the port of entry would have stamped your passport accordingly. That would be the date.
Visits before for other purposes are not included - as is made clear in the guidance notes.

i was in the UK while my work permit was being processed.

my pasport was sent off by the company that was going to hire me to the home office while i was still on a student visa and i did not need to leave the uk or re-enter the uk to get a stamp on my passport.

october 1999 last time i entered the UK on a student visa (expiring Jan. 2000)
jan 2000 i send my passport and get my student visa extended to jan. 2001
setember 2000 i get a job, and the company hiring me sends my passport to the home office(i am still legally in the uk on a student visa)
setember 2000 i quit my studies(PhD) and start working
december 2000 i leave the uk for the first time in over a year, but the visa stamp this time is for work visa(actually the stamp on my passport just shows a fresh visa expiring in september 2004, i hope i dont need to show the work permit letter, because i have lost it long time back)

Roger, I think you should enter the appropriate date from October 1999.

thanks for the reply John

actually i just remembered i had gone for a conference in April 2000 to ireland

my passport shows an entry for dublin airport (4 april 2000), do not know if is the entry or exit, i remember on my way back at machester airport, there was no immigration check, so i probably did not get registered in on the way back into the UK (unless the immigration office corordinated with the airlines)

so should i put in 9th April 2000(i think 4th april was when i left the UK and i came back on the 9th), and then i leave a note on the blank page stating that i am not sure when i came back.

the 30th october 1999 is a more solid date since my passport was stamped on my way into the UK at heathrow airport

Roger, I think ... unfortunately ... that question could be construed as being ambiguous. That being the case it is easier to defend the situation if a suggestion ever comes up that the answer is wrong.

If I were you I would enter 30.10.1999.

But I don't think you should lose any sleep over this. They might just be looking at ensuring that the date is over 5 years ago.

thanks for replying to all my queries?

you mean the question on the nturalisation application itself can be construed as ambiguous?

what do you mean by

easier to defend the situation if a suggestion ever comes up that the answer is wrong.

i will enter 30.10.1999, but there is a stamp in one of my old passports which shows that i entered dublin on the 4th april 2000!

The AN Guide includes :-

3.1. Enter the day you first arrived to settle in the United Kingdom. If this is less than 5 years from the date on which we receive the application, or less than 3 years from this date if you are married to a British citizen, you might not meet the residence requirement (see page 5) and your application may be unsuccessful. Enter the town or city (airport or seaport) where you first arrived to settle in the United Kingdom.

What I am saying if that the expression "first arrived to settle" is rather technical and I suspect that anyone reading the question might have doubts about what to enter.

In your case your student visa ... you entered on 30.10.1999 ... led to your Work Permit ... etc .... so that seems to be the logical date for you to enter. If others think differently then please do post.

i actually arrived in the UK on the 2nd of January 1998 as a student.
the visa got extended by a year in january 1999

and then i returned to india in october 99, and then re-entered the UK on the extended visa on the 30th of october 1999.

i got my visa extended by another year in January 2000 (which was going to expire in January 2001) and then on this extended visa went to ireland for a few days.

in september 2000, a company applied for a new visa and my visa got converted to the work permit visa, though my passport does not show so(i only had the work permit letter which i lost), i got a new stamp on my passport which showed that my visa was valid till september 2004. (during the conversion of my student visa to the work permit visa i did not leave the UK)