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Mother applying for British citizenship - ILR letter and bank statements acceptable for documents?
Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 1:00 am
by thepik241
My mother received Indefinite Leave to Remain in 1993. After many, many years of nagging her (long story about why she didn't want to get citizenship until now), she is now about to apply for naturalisation.
However, my mother never received a biometric card, she only had the ILR sticker/stamp in her old passport. The bad news is that she lost that passport, but she still has the letter from the Home Office from 1993 where she was awarded ILR. Would the letter and possibly a picture of her stamp be sufficient evidence of her immigration status?
Also, she hasn't left the country in many years and has been a caretaker for her mom and sister (my grandmother and aunt respectively) until both passed away recently. Her GP was very kind to write a letter confirming seeing her since 2016, and I've gathered every bank statement she's had since then as well into one pdf file. Would bank statements and a letter from her GP saying that she's lived in that flat since 2016 be sufficient evidence?
Any help would be much appreciated, cheers!
Re: Mother applying for British citizenship - ILR letter and bank statements acceptable for documents?
Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:28 am
by alterhase58
thepik241 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 25, 2023 1:00 am
My mother received Indefinite Leave to Remain in 1993. After many, many years of nagging her (long story about why she didn't want to get citizenship until now), she is now about to apply for naturalisation.
However, my mother never received a biometric card, she only had the ILR sticker/stamp in her old passport. The bad news is that she lost that passport, but she still has the letter from the Home Office from 1993 where she was awarded ILR. Would the letter and possibly a picture of her stamp be sufficient evidence of her immigration status?
ILR letter should be ok, as well as stamp if you have it.
Also, she hasn't left the country in many years and has been a caretaker for her mom and sister (my grandmother and aunt respectively) until both passed away recently. Her GP was very kind to write a letter confirming seeing her since 2016, and I've gathered every bank statement she's had since then as well into one pdf file. Would bank statements and a letter from her GP saying that she's lived in that flat since 2016 be sufficient evidence?
Bank statements are not normally accepted for the application. Official type documents only. Use the GP letter, and perhaps a few more documents as available, covering the five year residency period, such as Council Tax, State Pension letters, Benefits statements, HMRC, NHS, etc.
Any help would be much appreciated, cheers!
Re: Mother applying for British citizenship - ILR letter and bank statements acceptable for documents?
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 8:10 pm
by thepik241
Thank you for your reply!
Do you know if a picture of the ILR stamp in the passport is okay? Unfortunately, she lost the passport with the stamp but has a photo of it.
I'm gathering NHS documents and such to prove her residency.
Thank you so much!
Re: Mother applying for British citizenship - ILR letter and bank statements acceptable for documents?
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 8:15 pm
by alterhase58
All documents need to be scanned and uploaded for the online application so loading a picture isn’t an issue. And of course you have the original ILR letter if they were to ask for originals, which they can and sometimes do.
Re: Mother applying for British citizenship - ILR letter and bank statements acceptable for documents?
Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 4:56 am
by thepik241
Thank you so much for your help! I uploaded both the stamp and the ILR approval letter, as well as all the other documents required. Her biometric appointment is later today.
I hope they don't start to wonder why she didn't apply for citizenship much earlier...
Re: Mother applying for British citizenship - ILR letter and bank statements acceptable for documents?
Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:00 am
by alterhase58
thepik241 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 06, 2023 4:56 am
I hope they don't start to wonder why she didn't apply for citizenship much earlier...
Good luck with the application - how long one waits to apply is of no consequence as long as you can show that you meet the requirements. Many people apply years or even decades after they become eligible (including myself).