Citizenship requirements

[waleed205]

Hello all,
I am on spouse visa, planning to apply for ILR in November/December. I will need some advises please:

1- I read that as a spouse, I don't need to wait for year to apply for citizenship I can apply right away. I am planning to apply the following day I get my ILR. IS this OK?

2- When selecting the council for ceremony, I would like to do it in Cardiff (I live in Liverpool). In the application it seems possible, but do I need to justify? Will it raise a flag?
The reason is that we are school buddies and extended family all applying at the same time, so we are planning to schedule all in one day for celebration.

3- Residency documents: I saw a blogger on YouTube saying I need 10 documents that can't be bank statements, but she used bank letters instead of statements. Is this possible? I have letters from the council (not invoice) telling me my account is in arrears and late payments etc. Also sometime the council informs me that they are installing CCTV etc. So they are not statements or invoices, just letters. Are these acceptable? I can't get 10 letters. I also have DVLA sending my license, also DVLA refund etc. I am worried about this point.

I heard that this is only required if I don't submit my passport. I have a new passport with some EU stamps but no UK stamps as I use automatic gate. I usually use e-gates whenever possible for speed checkout, I forgot about the stamping thing.

Any help on this please??!! Best Regards

[CR001]

1. Fine yes provided you meet the requirements.

2. You can choose any council you wish. Don't assume you and your buddies will all get approval at the same time. It doesn't work like that most of the time, even for families who apply at the same time.

3. You only need the stamped pages of your passport for residency. Nothing else.

[contorted_svy]

If your passport doesn't get stamped you can use P60s, letters from employers, or government letters. If you don't have any of that you can request a SAR with UKVI, free of charge.

[waleed205]

Thanks for the replies..

My passport is usually not stamped in the UK as I use the e-gate, but it is stamped in the countires I go to.

[contorted_svy]

If you got stamps on your passport every time you travel that should be fine (but you need to provide passports covering the last 3 years. If some trips are missing you can supply documents as I stated above.

[waleed205]

Hello all,
I am on spouse visa, planning to apply for ILR in November/December. I will need some advises please:

1- I read that as a spouse, I don't need to wait for year to apply for citizenship I can apply right away. I am planning to apply the following day I get my ILR. IS this OK?

2- When selecting the council for ceremony, I would like to do it in Cardiff (I live in Liverpool). In the application it seems possible, but do I need to justify? Will it raise a flag?
The reason is that we are school buddies and extended family all applying at the same time, so we are planning to schedule all in one day for celebration.

3- Residency documents: I saw a blogger on YouTube saying I need 10 documents that can't be bank statements, but she used bank letters instead of statements. Is this possible? I have letters from the council (not invoice) telling me my account is in arrears and late payments etc. Also sometime the council informs me that they are installing CCTV etc. So they are not statements or invoices, just letters. Are these acceptable? I can't get 10 letters. I also have DVLA sending my license, also DVLA refund etc. I am worried about this point.

I heard that this is only required if I don't submit my passport. I have a new passport with some EU stamps but no UK stamps as I use automatic gate. I usually use e-gates whenever possible for speed checkout, I forgot about the stamping thing.

Any help on this please??!! Best Regards

I looked up several councils around the area, most councils are fully booked, and only offer ceremonies that are 2+ months away. Any idea which councils are fast? I would select them during my citizenship application. We are open to travel anywhere.

[alterhase58]

Choosing a different council from the one where you has no impact on your application - why would they offer the option then?

There's not a league table of councils - each council arranges their ceremonies according to local demand as they know it. Even if someone recommended this or that council you can't be sure that they'll be fast when you want to book.

You could always go for a private ceremony for an additional fee.

The reason is that we are school buddies and extended family all applying at the same time, so we are planning to schedule all in one day for celebration.

You sure you will all be approved at the same time?

[contorted_svy]

Very unlikely you would get approved at the same time, and we don't know which councils are "faster" - it all depends on their own schedules, priorities, workloads, room availability, etc. I know this is not helpful, but you can't plan this aspect in a lot of detail - have the ceremony where your friends live so you can bring one as a guest, and if you are lucky you can have the ceremony on the same day, but that is a plus, not a given.

[waleed205]

Thanks for everyone's help..

I don't work, so I don't have P60 forms, I earn living from properties only. For residency documents, can I use:
HMRC
NHS
DVLA
Letters from BG & Banks (not statements)
?

I have documents for 21, 22, & 24, for some reasons I don't have any letters for 2023. Is this a problem?

I am spouse of UK citizen

My passport is not stamped in the UK at all, except for my initial landing in 2019. I used e-gate since then. However, my passport is always stamped in the country I go to (in & out). Will this suffice?

Thanks

[contorted_svy]

Letters from banks are not suitable. If you want to be extra sure you can request a SAR and use that.

[waleed205]

If your passport doesn't get stamped you can use P60s, letters from employers, or government letters. If you don't have any of that you can request a SAR with UKVI, free of charge.

I know I might be overthinkg, but I cant help.

I submitted my application back in November waiting for an answer. I just can't help re-thinking this:

My passport is not stamped with UK entry, I always use e-gate (I should not have). However, I have all stamps to countries I go to (in and out in old and new passports) and offcourse the UK egate records is available for HO.

So in my application, I declared all the visits/entries, and I also submitted letters from
HMRC
DVLA
NHS
over the past 3-4 years.
I am not employed (as declared) so no P60 or employers letters.

Will the above satisfy the residency proof?

[alterhase58]

eGate entries are recorded by Border Force systems so UKVI can validate what you have declared.
Also the documents you mentioned should be sufficient to prove residence.

If they require any further documents or clarification they will contact you. We have been through this ourselves and it's a nervous time, considering the importance/cost of this application, however trying to think about potential issues doesn't help.

[waleed205]

Dear all,
Need your help with this query

Background:
I am a native of one country (Syria)
I got naturalized Australian back in 1995, which I have been using ever since (that what I used for ILR as well)

When I filled out the citizenship applcation, I declared my native nationality , and ticked "No" to "Do you have a valid passport for that country?" My native passport expired 1996, I have it.

HO asked me for my native passport to confirm to cover period from 2019 to 2024.

Any suggestions how to address this?

[alterhase58]

What you don't have you can's submit. Are they asking to prove residency for that period?
If so you could instead provide P60/Other tax documents, Council Tax bills, other official type documents/correspondence.
You need to explain the situation in a covering with the documents. Strange they are asking for a Syrian passport for that period, considering the political and security situation. I don't think this should be an issue, but best to explain. Also in view of having used your Australian passport for residency.

[waleed205]

What you don't have you can's submit. Are they asking to prove residency for that period?
If so you could instead provide P60/Other tax documents, Council Tax bills, other official type documents/correspondence.
You need to explain the situation in a covering with the documents. Strange they are asking for a Syrian passport for that period, considering the political and security situation. I don't think this should be an issue, but best to explain. Also in view of having used your Australian passport for residency.

Thanks for the reply. They did not ask for residency documents as I submitted all P60 and passports. They specifically asked for the this passport. No issues, I can submit the scan and explain. I have never lived in Syria actually, born and raised outside, and then migrated to Australia.

[contorted_svy]

Here is my two cents, though this may not be what happened.

Australian passports don't get stamped - so you rightfully provided P60s to prove your residency. As they saw you declared you are also a Syrian national, which would get their passport stamped, they are trying to make you prove your residency through that, though that is completely redundant. Send them copies of your expired passport, explain the (obvious) circumstances of why you could not renew it, and reiterate that you supplied P60s to cover your qualifying period. Hopefully this works.

[waleed205]

I sent the explanation as requested, I will advise the outcome for reference.

2 questions please:

When I replied, I copied my other email address to make sure it went through. I received the email in my junk box. Now I am also worried it went to their junk box as well. Should I call to confirm?

Also, do they tend to consolidate the questions and send it all at once, or they send them separately as they review the case. In other words, I am wondering if they have other questions (other than the passport thing), would they have sent it in the same email, or I should expect more questions? Just wondering.
Phoning them is useless you normally won’t get to staff who will be dealing with your case.

[alterhase58]

We have no insights into Hime Office network configurations! Suffice to say that I wouldn’t expect them use free email services like hotmail or googlemail. So you are overthinking this.

[contorted_svy]

You answered the query you were asked. I would leave it at that for now - if they need anything else they will be in touch. I would recommend checking your junk folder regularly.

[waleed205]

I recieved an email from HO asking for Absences for the past 5 years. I am asked to provide the passport stamps (which I don't have as I use the e-gate) evidencing the absences along with destination and dates of entry and departure and reason for travel. Is this normal?

I listed all of those on my application already, and provided the letter in liue of the stamps such as DVLA, HMRC, etc.

Does this mean they are doubting my absneces? it is already included in the application form.

Any suggestions or guidance please?

[contorted_svy]

Did you explain why you can't provide your Syrian passport that would have stamps? I suggest you try to get a SAR and provide that if they insist.

[waleed205]

Thanks for your reply. Yes I provided the expired Syrian passport in full, and was hoping for approval. Now I am surprised with this request. I started doubting myself if I missed a trip and they can see it from thier end and I did not disclose it !

How long does it take to get the SAR report? I saw 3 levels, any suggestion which level? DO i need to include all passport numbers for which I neeed the entry/exit records for?

Thanks

[contorted_svy]

I would include all passports. Time to get back a SAR is around 3 weeks I think. Basic level should do, just state you need each time you crossed the border. Did you explain why you no longer have a valid Syrian passport?

[waleed205]

Hi, thanks. Yes I explained it.

I think I know why they are asking.. correct me if I'm am wrong please.

I went to my travel details now, and indeed I found I entered one entry incorrectly although the whole family checked my application), completely missed it (I promise), I entered the month incorrectly.

The delimma is that it will put me from 95 days to 125 days absences.
- first will they accept the excessive absence (spouse of UK citizen)?
- second, will they believe me it was an absolute error? I know!! I know!!

help please

[waleed205]

Hi, thanks. Yes I explained it.

I think I know why they are asking.. correct me if I'm am wrong please.

I went to my travel details now, and indeed I found I entered one entry incorrectly although the whole family checked my application), completely missed it (I promise), I entered the month incorrectly.

The delimma is that it will put me from 95 days to 125 days absences.
- first will they accept the excessive absence (spouse of UK citizen)?
- second, will they believe me it was an absolute error? I know!! I know!!

help please

Also just to mentioned, during the last year, I went to Paris for 1 day (returned same day) and another trip I came back the following day, so I did not mention it in the application as I only asked for longer trips.