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Hi,

My question regards the language requirement for an application for naturalisation as a British Citizen (Form AN).

I am a dual Polish and Australian citizen. I was born and spent my schooling and university in Australia. I have been in the UK for the last 6.5 years as a Polish national and will be applying for naturalisation as a Polish national. I have recently received a Permanent Residence Card. I have just passed the Life in the UK Test.

One of the options to prove that you pass the Language requirement to gain British citizenship is to demonstrate that you are a national of a majority English speaking country (see p. 6-7 of Form AN).

I would like to provide my Australian passport as proof of this, but if possible, would rather provide a certified copy, so that I can retain my original Australian passport. I will be traveling to Australia on holiday in December and would like to lodge my application for naturalisation in November. So if I send my original Australian passport I will not be able to travel to Australia as I will not have my passport on me.

My question therefore is: Will the Home Office accept a certified copy of my Australian passport (certified by a England & Wales Lawyer) as evidence that I am a national of a majority English speaking country, and therefore pass the English language requirement?

I also note that I have read that the Nationality Checking Service (NCS) itself certifies documents so that applicants can retain originals.

Thanks for your time on getting back to me about this

Cheers
IBCOM1

Use the NCS, they will take certified photocopies which are accepted by the HO.

Thanks for your reply LilyLalilu.

Do you, or anyone else know, whether if I were NOT to use the NCS, a certified copy of my Australian passport would be accepted by the Home office?

The reason I ask is because it is easier for me to organise a certified copy of my passport via an England & Wales qualified solicitor (which I can do immediately) then it is to book an appointment etc with the NCS.

Cheers for the information

I'm not a 100% sure but I don't think they do. I believe their guidelines state somewhere that they can't usually approve an application without sight of the original document (and make no mention of solicitor-certified copies) so I assume that only NCS-certified copies are acceptable.
But maybe wait for more feedback, perhaps someone else on here has had success with solicitor-certified copies.

Thanks for the help LilyLalilu

I ended up getting in touch with my local NCS. They will take a copy of my Australian passport and I'll be able to retain the original.

Cheers

Hi IBCOM1

Can you let me know if you were successful in using your Australian passport as proof of English language?

Reason I ask is, I phoned to book an appointment with NCS and they said if my naturalisation application is based on my EU passport, then I wouldn't be able to use my Australian passport as proof of English language.

Appreciate all responses!

Thanks

Can anyone help with my query? - see last post - really appreciate any guidance on this.