Naturalisation Helpline

[John]

I have spotted this Parliamentary Written Question which IMHO contains good news in the answer :-

Naturalisation Helpline

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average waiting time was for calls to the 0845 0105200 helpline for inquiries on naturalisation to be answered in the last period for which figures are available; and how many unanswered calls there were in that period. [38143]

Mr. McNulty: The average waiting time for November 2005 was four minutes 25 seconds. The volume of unanswered calls in November 2005 was 109,560 from a total of 141,552 calls offered. A review of staffing levels at the Nationality helpdesk has been conducted to assess what the required level of staffing needed is to meet the demand for the service. It is intended to increase the number of call handlers progressively in the period up to summer 2006 to twice the current level.

So things are going to get a lot better for those trying to get through to the Naturalisation Helpline.

[ezh]

doesn't look it gonna happen. I have tried 10 times today starting at about 9 am with 30 min intervals (I have been waiting for almost 6 month and I am getting paranoid - sure, you understand me). All I have been getting: "We are unnable to answer your call. Sorry. Good bye". Full stop. It because of the backlog, may I suggest

[John]

Why do you say that? As it says :-

It is intended to increase the number of call handlers progressively in the period up to summer 2006 to twice the current level.

Clearly February is not summer! No doubt things will get better!

But why are you phoning at all?

[ezh]

Thanks John,

I have been over calm for almost half a year - no phone calls, no emails to the IND. But it started to get me really hard after the news about the backlog was announced and when I saw here that the NCS applicants are almost not affected by the backlog. I have certain plans to do and waiting for more than 6 month is difficult to accept when some people get their approval within 9 days.

Somebody here on the forum has suggested me to call them and then I saw you post about the helpline I was quite optimistic.

I am sure the IND will sort the things out by the summer. By that time it will be 10 month since my applicatino

[John]

OK, but you need to accept that at the present time there is no one in the category of "some people get their approval within 9 days". That was prior to the deluge of applications that were sent in to IND in October.

[ezh]

OK, but you need to accept that at the present time there is no one in the category of "some people get their approval within 9 days". That was prior to the deluge of applications that were sent in to IND in October.

I used the 9 days as an example from "sevcall". Sure, the ususal time for the NCS people is 3-5 weeks. People with similar character to mine who applied in November and even in the late December (2 month later than myself) using the NCS service have already been approved. Please, look at "conclusion on naturalization approval time" thread once again (and it would be nice if you unlock it).

[ezh]

Hi guys,

I tried again to get through today. And it was brilliant! I've been waiting for only 3 minutes and then a pleasant voice told me that my application has been approved !!!! It added that the letter itself would reach me only in a couple of weeks, which is nothing compared to that almost 6 months I've been waiting!

The IND telephone helpline is brilliant today!

[mhunjn]

Congratulations...

Told you there was nothing to worry about!...

[ezh]

Thanks, mate - you've been right !

[lemess]

Congratulations.

Once thing that is worth bearing in mind when paranoia strikes is this :

It is very rare for a naturalisation application to be refused if the conditions are met. I don't know anyone who has had their application declined. So in almost cases it's simply a matter of waiting and you shall prevail !

[John]

Congratulations ezh ! Soon to be a British Citizen!

Lemess, I agree. Only a small percentage of applications end up being declined. Those that are often fail because of some obvious problem with meeting the residence tests. For example, someone not physically in the UK exactly five years before IND receive the application (three years for spouse of British Citizen) ... although even then if they would have passed that test just slightly later then they might be offered the chance of re-declaration .... signing the form again at a later date.

[ezh]

Thank you, lemess and John for your congratulations!

The IND really does the job properly and after the backlog problem cleared it will probably stand as the best naturalization service in the world...