British Citizenship application queries

[baljitsingh197701]

Hi There,

I have following queries for Naturalisation online application, i shall be grateful if you could answer them.

1) I have got my ILR application on 23 May 2024 with 10 years route, so I can submit / pay my Naturalisation online application on 23 May 2025 or do i need to wait 1 or 2 days additional?
2) For Referee 1 and Referee 2, i am asking 1 NHS Doctor friend and 1 IT Software friend, hope that should be fine as both of them is professional?
3) As my Doctor friend lives far away from me, so getting Referee form signed and scanned and then i can upload my photo would do? Or do i need original physical copy of Referee form during appointment or any point of time during the application (Biometric or Citizen Ceremony)?
4) For 5 years proof:
a) i can use my Passport Stamp? Note: I didn't visit my county in 2020 and 2021 so this entry won't be there however after that i have visited 4 times and 1 entry was not stamped
b) I can submit the P60 and Payslip for 5 years as both of them got address and government approved?
c) Do i need to submit any other proof like Utility bill (I only have since 2023)

5) To prove my English: Providing my degree certificate (Have one doc where it say medium was English) would suffice or i need to provide UK NARIC letter which i got when i converted from established staff visa category (Issued in May 2010) General category (July 2020). Note: I came to know UKNARIC is no more in function and it replaced by someone so will do not be still valid?

6) As i am in UK for more than 10 years but in "Details of your trips outside the UK" i only need to provide details for last 5 years as they asks?

7) "Have you made any previous UK immigration applications in the UK or abroad?" - In this section i am giving all the applications i have made for UK Visa since 2010 till 2024, for last 3 i only remember have "Enter your reference number if known" but not for rest. Note: 2010, 2011, 2013,2015, 2017, 2019 (all these were established staff category), 2020, 2023 (These are General and Skilled worker category) and 2024 ILR. so in total 9 times i had visa application submitted so i am giving 9 entries in this section.

Last but not least can i use same photo for naturalisation and British passport ? or both has been difference as naturalisation can take god time and British passport photo should be less than 1 month old?

[contorted_svy]

Hi There,

I have following queries for Naturalisation online application, i shall be grateful if you could answer them.

1) I have got my ILR application on 23 May 2024 with 10 years route, so I can submit / pay my Naturalisation online application on 23 May 2025 or do i need to wait 1 or 2 days additional? you can submit on the 23 May
2) For Referee 1 and Referee 2, i am asking 1 NHS Doctor friend and 1 IT Software friend, hope that should be fine as both of them is professional? Only if the IT software person is a member of a chartered body. NHS doctors are not on the professionals list,
3) As my Doctor friend lives far away from me, so getting Referee form signed and scanned and then i can upload my photo would do? Or do i need original physical copy of Referee form during appointment or any point of time during the application (Biometric or Citizen Ceremony)? You can do it digitally.
4) For 5 years proof:
a) i can use my Passport Stamp? Note: I didn't visit my county in 2020 and 2021 so this entry won't be there however after that i have visited 4 times and 1 entry was not stamped This is ok
b) I can submit the P60 and Payslip for 5 years as both of them got address and government approved? Not needed
c) Do i need to submit any other proof like Utility bill (I only have since 2023) Not needed

5) To prove my English: Providing my degree certificate (Have one doc where it say medium was English) would suffice or i need to provide UK NARIC letter which i got when i converted from established staff visa category (Issued in May 2010) General category (July 2020). Note: I came to know UKNARIC is no more in function and it replaced by someone so will do not be still valid? Provide the degree certificate and the UK NARIC letter.

6) As i am in UK for more than 10 years but in "Details of your trips outside the UK" i only need to provide details for last 5 years as they asks? Only 5 years

7) "Have you made any previous UK immigration applications in the UK or abroad?" - In this section i am giving all the applications i have made for UK Visa since 2010 till 2024, for last 3 i only remember have "Enter your reference number if known" but not for rest. Note: 2010, 2011, 2013,2015, 2017, 2019 (all these were established staff category), 2020, 2023 (These are General and Skilled worker category) and 2024 ILR. so in total 9 times i had visa application submitted so i am giving 9 entries in this section. Enter reference numbers and rough time period as you remember them, it won't affect your statutory requirements,

Last but not least can i use same photo for naturalisation and British passport ? or both has been difference as naturalisation can take god time and British passport photo should be less than 1 month old? They are not supposed to be the same however you can cross that bridge when you get there, naturalisation applications take some time to be processed.

[baljitsingh197701]

Thanks for your input.

for professional persons i can see below list from https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... essible--2 website and it doesn't contain the IT professional and NHS Doctor. Unfortunately i don't know single professional from below list so what should i do? Can i go ahead with IT Professional and NHS Doctor?

accountant
airline pilot
articled clerk of a limited company
assurance agent of recognised company
bank or building society official
barrister
British Computer Society (BCS) - professional grades which are Associate (AMBCS), Member (MBCS), Fellow (FBCS)
broker
chairman or director of limited company
chemist
chiropodist
christian science practitioner
commissioner for oaths
councillor: local or county
civil servant (permanent)
dentist
designated premises supervisors
director or Manager of a VAT registered charity
director, manager or personnel officer of a VAT registered company
driving instructor (approved)
engineer (with professional qualifications)
fire service official
funeral director
insurance agent (full time) of a recognised company
journalist
justice of the Peace
legal secretary (members and fellows of the Institute of legal secretaries)
local government officer
manager or Personnel officer (of limited company)
member of Parliament
member of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces
Merchant Navy officer
minister of a recognised religion
nurse (RN, SEN or holder of a BA in nursing)
officer of the armed services (active or retired)
optician
paralegal (certified or qualified paralegals, and associate members of the Institute of Paralegals)
person with honours (such as OBE, MBE and so on)
personal licensee holders
photographer (professional)
police officer
Post Office official
president or secretary of a recognised organisation
Salvation Army officer
social worker
solicitor
surveyor
teacher, lecturer
trade union officer
travel agency (qualified)
valuers and auctioneers (fellow and associate members of the incorporated society)
warrant officers and chief petty officers

[contorted_svy]

Is the IT professional a member of a chartered body?

[baljitsingh197701]

Is the IT professional a member of a chartered body?

nope he works for Barclays technology solutions and i dont think Barclays bank comes under chartered body.

[contorted_svy]

Chartered bodies are a different thing entirely, they are separate organisations that provide professional recognition. Ask your friend if they are a member of one, eg Institute of Engineering and Technology.

[baljitsingh197701]

Chartered bodies are a different thing entirely, they are separate organisations that provide professional recognition. Ask your friend if they are a member of one, eg Institute of Engineering and Technology.

I dont think so as i work for same bank in same department and i dont think Barclays IT department comes under"eg Institute of Engineering and Technology."

[contorted_svy]

You can just ask. A professional chartered body isn't a bank, but an external body that provides qualifications. One doesn't need to be employed by a chartered body to be a member of it.

[lolo2]

I dont think so as i work for same bank in same department and i dont think Barclays IT department comes under"eg Institute of Engineering and Technology."

A professional person can join a chartered body voluntarily, it has nothing to do with the place or the department where they work.

If the person has a university degree e.g. as a computer or IT engineer they can be your referee - engineers are in the list.

[contorted_svy]

I dont think so as i work for same bank in same department and i dont think Barclays IT department comes under"eg Institute of Engineering and Technology."

A professional person can join a chartered body voluntarily, it has nothing to do with the place or the department where they work.

If the person has a university degree e.g. as a computer or IT engineer they can be your referee - engineers are in the list.

Only if chartered I think.

[lolo2]

I don't think chartership is a requirement for an engineer to act as a referee. Somehow I believe it doesn't make any sense for this purpose. Other occupations mentioned in the list don't have this requirement.

I think the professional standing aspect is mentioned to differentiate from for example trade workers: wastewater (e.g. a plumber), heating (e.g. a boiler technician), gas engineers, etc, a title that is commonly used in the UK.

When I submitted my own application, I sent a query to the Home Office on the list of professions as my referee (a retired architect) is not in the list. They responded this:

The list is not an exhaustive list; therefore, an individual’s profession may not be listed as acceptable although they may fall under the category of a person of any nationality who is of professional standing or a member of a professional association. If the caseworker is not satisfied with your referee, they may request another.

My application proceeded, I did not received any request.

I noticed that contrary to immigration, many guidances on nationality have not been updated in years and have some ambiguities - like the photo signature thing in the referee form discussed many times in other posts. The wordings can make all these confusions.

[zxyzhgp]

I am doing the referee stuff for my naturalization as well and found a professor at a University

It is better to follow the rule but I have to say, all my colleagues at uni used non-chartered body referee. The referees are just post-doc/researcher and not associated with any chartered body. And their applications were successful

[contorted_svy]

The guidance is very vague and I agree that some more leeway is probably in there, but it is not openly phrased, so it makes it difficult to advise. I used a university professor who wasn't chartered and that was OK however for most professions this is not straightforward.