Approval letter may have gone lost :(

[pickle314]

Hi lovely board members,

I was informed by my solicitor that my naturalisation was approved on November 1st and also received an email from FMT team on November 6th that my application was approved on October 22nd. By next Monday it will be 21 working days and exactly a month since the approval. I can't seem to find any information from my local council Camden as they strictly need the letter with the HO reference number. I'm due to relocate from UK for work reason for a bit on the 11th of December as I have budgeted enough time to do the ceremony and apply for passport.

I just want to ask if from anyone's experience, what does the HO do next if by Monday nothing turns up? Can they send via email/fax the approval letter? Of course I understand in the worst case scenario I will need to come back to the UK to apply for the passport.

General advice will be much appreciated.

[aman90]

Demand an e copy from HO (via email)
The HO reference number is the same as Case ID sent in the acknowledgment email.
My council wasn’t interested in seeing the approval letter. They had my picture with them. Didn’t even ask for ID but I did present it.

[pickle314]

Demand an e copy from HO (via email)
The HO reference number is the same as Case ID sent in the acknowledgment email.
My council wasn’t interested in seeing the approval letter. They had my picture with them. Didn’t even ask for ID but I did present it.

Thanks so much Aman90, does the case ID look something like this? 1212­0001­0492­4349
I'll try this tomorrow with the council and ask for an E Copy.

[aman90]

Can’t say for sure in ur case but in my case ID and ref number is much shorter- about 8 numbers.

[katanayi]

council does not need your ref. number but your correct name. However, this may differ council to council. Check your email for ref. number what you received. usually, it is mix of letters and numbers.

[AnotherUUID]

Check your email for ref. number what you received. usually, it is mix of letters and numbers.

This is incorrect. The HO ref number is not the alpha-numeric UKVI application reference number. These are distinct. Once the application is submitted and paid for, the applicant receives a confirmation from UKVI showing a summary of the application and an alpha-numeric reference starting with UKVI_ (e.g. UKVI_0ABC123456789).

As @aman90 has pointed out, the HO ref number is the Case ID which is an 8-digit number included in all later correspondence with the applicant. It is usually first mentioned in an email sent to the applicant shortly after their application is received by the correct department. The confirmation email is an automated response something akin

Dear Mr X,
Case ID: 123456789
Thank you for your application to the Home Office
...

Wrt getting in touch with the council, @katanayi is correct - I think it varies greatly. My council didn't care about the approval letter at all (even on the date of ceremony) as they had an internal copy, but did ask me to quote the HO ref number.

On the date of the ceremony, they only checked my ID to make sure the name is correct. On the day I went amidst all the paperwork they had on the desk I saw their copy of the approval letter in the same envelope as the naturalisation certificate. I believe they also had a my photo from the application.

[AnotherUUID]

Oops... apologies for including "Mr" in the above quote. I copied the text from the email I received and only removed the name and Case ID - did not mean to make any assumptions about the OP.

[pickle314]

Just to give a final update on this. Though the application was approved on October 22nd, no physical letter was ever sent out to me for whatever reason. In the end, I received a digital letter via email on November 18th and the letter was dated 15th of November. I had allowed enough time to complete the passport process and relocate before Christmas holiday but had to rearrange to come back for January. Thanks HO! 11 years and this is definitely the final nail in the coffin!

Very glad this is now all over. Thanks everyone.