Naturalisation application processing timelines (only)

[Badman87]

You can protest as much as you want, write letters, complaint... that won't change this : British citizenship is a privilege NOT a right. you can't argue with that, even if when they refuse an application, you can ask for reconsideration and not an appeal. I think this is very important that people understand these words : PRIVILEGE AND RECONSIDERATION.

When you pay £906 and send off your application, you have to agree with those 'terms'. It clearly says 'A decision about your application will usually be made within 6 months - some applications can take longer' AND 'While we try to deal with cases quickly this cannot be guaranteed'... Again you have to read the sentence properly and see the words 'usually' and 'cannot' it doesn't say they will, may, must, can, have to make a decision within 6 months, but 'usually'. The fact that they are using those words mean they can take as long as they want, even years if they have to. So you can protest but they are pretty much covered with that, the HO haven't misled anyone, are not late or anything, and complaining and protesting about 'delays' is pointless...

Another good example, is the good character requirement. While there is a 'definition' and a guidance for it. This doesn't limit the HO to apply certain rules, change or define the 'good character' in a different way. Like this has changed in December 2014, for anyone who has been in Britain illegally, overstayed etc (and probably causing the 'delays' and affecting a lot of applications as they have to start them over again), and this applies even for applications submitted BEFORE this change, and you cannot complaint about it because there is no accurate definition of the 'good character' requirements and the HO defines it, not the applicants.

To sum up, protesting, complaining, taking them court, won't affect or speed up your applications. Just take it easy, honestly, this is not worth stressing as most of you have ILR and have the same right as British citizen and can travel too. But you are free to do otherwise, not going to achieve anything though...

Good luck!

Please listen to this guy, he speaks sense! Protesting will NOT do any favours instead, it will result in a backlash from the indigenous British people. Remember, they don't have to give you an option to be Naturalised - they could just offer ILR and nothing more. The fact they're offering their passport makes it a privilege not a right! Yes you've paid almost a £1,000 and so what?! I want my application processed in one day but we can't all get what we wish for. So, just sit back, pray and stop calling for updates on your application!

[huqqapani]

Eligibility criteria: 5 Years + 2 Years ILR( 2 applications, Me and My Wife)
Method of application: Solicitors
Date of application: 28th November 2014
Date of receipt by UKBA: 9th December 2014
Date of debit of fees: 9th December 2014
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 18th December 2014(Dated 9th December 2014)
Date of receipt of approval: 23rd January 2015( Dated 13th January 2015)Date of Ceremony: 05th February 2015
Alhamdulillah, we are now British Citizen and end of the journey! Thanks everybody of this forum and the moderators. Its helped me a lots.
We ( me and my wife) have received ILR on 24th September 2012 and my daugter received British Passport following naturalisation by October 2012( too fast!). I have used immigration consultant althrough my immigration process.
Will apply for Passport soon.

Congrats

[tsilr]

Eligibility criteria: 5 Years + 2 Years ILR( 2 applications, Me and My Wife)
Method of application: Solicitors
Date of application: 28th November 2014
Date of receipt by UKBA: 9th December 2014
Date of debit of fees: 9th December 2014
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 18th December 2014(Dated 9th December 2014)
Date of receipt of approval: 23rd January 2015( Dated 13th January 2015)Date of Ceremony: 05th February 2015
Alhamdulillah, we are now British Citizen and end of the journey! Thanks everybody of this forum and the moderators. Its helped me a lots.
We ( me and my wife) have received ILR on 24th September 2012 and my daugter received British Passport following naturalisation by October 2012( too fast!). I have used immigration consultant althrough my immigration process.
Will apply for Passport soon.

[hannabelka]

jobinscaria, yep

[jobinscaria]

Method of application: NCS Bromley
Date of application: 21 Jan 2015
Date of debit of fees: 29 Jan 2015
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 05 Feb 2015 dated 29/01/2015
Date of receipt of approval: waiting
Date of Ceremony: waiting

Exactly the same story!
I also got acknowledgement email on 30th Jan.

Did you also apply at Bromley NCS?

[hannabelka]

Method of application: NCS Bromley
Date of application: 21 Jan 2015
Date of debit of fees: 29 Jan 2015
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 05 Feb 2015 dated 29/01/2015
Date of receipt of approval: waiting
Date of Ceremony: waiting

Exactly the same story!
I also got acknowledgement email on 30th Jan.

[Twinings_Jasmine]

No of applicants: 1 Adult
Eligibility Criteria : 10 years ILR
Language criteria : Life in the UK test + UNI degree certification
Method of application: Postal
Date of application: 03.02.2015
Payment method: Credit Card
Date of receipt by UKBA: 04.02.2015 (Tracked via Royal Mail website)
Date of acknowledgment (Email and Mail): Waiting
Date of debit or clearance of fees:
Date approval received:
Date of ceremony:

Feels like a dimwit as 1) forgot to fill in husband's country/town/village of birth and 2)forgot to provide a pre-paid envelope. Waiting acknowledgement from Home Office before I call them to explain my errors.

[ryan1512lon]

You can protest as much as you want, write letters, complaint... that won't change this : British citizenship is a privilege NOT a right. you can't argue with that, even if when they refuse an application, you can ask for reconsideration and not an appeal. I think this is very important that people understand these words : PRIVILEGE AND RECONSIDERATION.

When you pay £906 and send off your application, you have to agree with those 'terms'. It clearly says 'A decision about your application will usually be made within 6 months - some applications can take longer' AND 'While we try to deal with cases quickly this cannot be guaranteed'... Again you have to read the sentence properly and see the words 'usually' and 'cannot' it doesn't say they will, may, must, can, have to make a decision within 6 months, but 'usually'. The fact that they are using those words mean they can take as long as they want, even years if they have to. So you can protest but they are pretty much covered with that, the HO haven't misled anyone, are not late or anything, and complaining and protesting about 'delays' is pointless...

Another good example, is the good character requirement. While there is a 'definition' and a guidance for it. This doesn't limit the HO to apply certain rules, change or define the 'good character' in a different way. Like this has changed in December 2014, for anyone who has been in Britain illegally, overstayed etc (and probably causing the 'delays' and affecting a lot of applications as they have to start them over again), and this applies even for applications submitted BEFORE this change, and you cannot complaint about it because there is no accurate definition of the 'good character' requirements and the HO defines it, not the applicants.

To sum up, protesting, complaining, taking them court, won't affect or speed up your applications. Just take it easy, honestly, this is not worth stressing as most of you have ILR and have the same right as British citizen and can travel too. But you are free to do otherwise, not going to achieve anything though...

Good luck!

[jobinscaria]

Eligibility criteria: 5yrs + 1yr ILR
Method of application: NCS Bromley
Date of application: 21 Jan 2015
Date of debit of fees: 29 Jan 2015
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 05 Feb 2015 dated 29/01/2015
Date of receipt of approval: waiting
Date of Ceremony: waiting

[mrkub]

Eligibility Criteria : 9 yrs family of EEA National, no PR card
Method of application: Post
Date of application: 30/12/2014
Payment method: Debit Card
Date of receipt by UKBA: 31/12/2014
Date of acknowledgment: 15/01/2015 (dated 06/01/2015)
Date of debit or clearance of fees: 7/01/2015
Date documents returned: 21/01/2015
Date approval received: 05/02/2015 (dated 31/01/2015)
Date of ceremony: 12/02/2015


Good luck everyone.

[huqqapani]

Hey people pliz don't causr unnecessary protest....

If this was a third world country, I would agree that I would sit back and not cause a stir in fear of the organisation hitting back and making it even harder. However this isn't a 3rd world country so I don't agree with that.

Hey people pliz don't causr unnecessary protest..its not your right to have brit passport. .just wait and be positive. IIt will come when they are done..

Its not my right to have a brit passport but it is my right to ask for the reasons for shambolic service provided by UKBA after charging me £1000. I am not asking UKBA to give me the Brit Passport, i am asking for my application to be processed (along with thousands others) in timely manner, atleast to the timescales they state on their website (which are horrendous to say the least) if not better. This amount didn't grow on a tree in my back garden. If it had, I would be happy to sit and watch the paint dry while waiting for UKBA to process the application.

would you pay a pizza delivery guy if he delivered the goods an hour late. I wouldn't. I would send him back on his merry way.

PS. I don't eat pizza

[a7medibrahim]

Criteria :1 yr student +2YRS SPOUSE OF BC
Method :Ncs
Date of sending :13/6/2014
Date of debit fee :1/7/2014
Date of acknowledge :26/6/2014
Date of approval :2/2/2015
Date of ceremony TBC


FINALLY GUYS I'VE GOT MY APPROVAL TODAY AFTER ALMOST 8 MONTH , I'VE SEND A LETTER TO MY CASE WORKER ON THE 13/1/2015 ASKING FOR A PRGOGRESS UPDATE THEN RECEIVED ALETTER SAYING THAT IT WILL TAKE UP TO ANOTHER 6 MONTHS BUT ACTUALLY THEY SEND MY THE APPROVAL AFTER 2 DAYS FROM REPLYING BACK TO MY LAST LETTER
MY ADVICE JUST SEND A LETTER TO YOUR CASE WORKER AFTER 6 MONTH WAITING,YOU DON'T NEED TO COMPLAIN , WISH YOU ALL THE BEST LUCK GUYS

[Rahel1984]

Hey people pliz don't causr unnecessary protest..its not your right to have brit passport. .just wait and be positive. IIt will come when they are done..

I agree with you nkim. I think protesting might make it worse. Cos they will make something up to get away with it. And in return they will make us wait even longer or might lead to refusal. It will be better if we just wait and hope for the best.

[dkara]

Eligibility criteria: 6 years EEA without ILR or PR card
Language criteria met: UK PhD degree + Life in The UK Test
Method of application: Special delivery by lawyer
Date of application: 20/10/2014
Date application received: 21/10/2014
Payment method: Debit Card
Date of debit or clearance of fees: 05/11/2014
Date of acknowledgment letter received: 13/11/2014 dated 05/11/2014
Date approval received: 05/02/2015 dated 30/01/2015
Date of ceremony: TBC

[nkim2222]

Hey people pliz don't causr unnecessary protest..its not your right to have brit passport. .just wait and be positive. IIt will come when they are done..

[aumar]

HuqqaPani, Let's plan out and find out more info how to attack them in an organised manner. We only get as much as we fight for- that's perfectly suited quote said for home Office.

I appeal all of you to please come up with a proper strategy that can be devised to atleast to send the message out, through media, protest,mass complains or anything?

Passport issues last year only came onto scene because people had to cancel their holidays and suffered losses due to delays and that was a kick in the teeth but no one knows they are doing this to us all. Unless we raise our voices we won't get any help.

This is getting ridiculously frustrating and unacceptable.

[Aaman612]

7 months and 2 weeks now. 25th June application. No response. I see there are few in the same category.

[huqqapani]

Thanks so much for your kind replies.

Recent FOI figures showing a huge backlog and I think average time is around 8/9 months now except the lucky ones who are getting the decisions quicker.

Surely, they is a way to raise our protest at a public forum where our concerns can be heard and reach out to the bosses. I feel, if perhaps we can all start campaigning for this, may be we can expect a fair treatment for us and for all the people applying in the future. I'm talking about those people waiting for 6 months and more. We are settled now and apparently hold the same rights as Brits, so why not we voice out like the passport delays issues and I'm sure this will do the trick?

Home office is a reactive institute and for such organisations, the pressure must be on to get things done. Just saying, please feel free to give your opinion.

Is it worth asking Citizens Advice Bureau for advice on where to go. Surely something can be done. How can an orgnanisation be so careless in dealing after charging close to £1000 per application. In this day and age, we can take supermarkets to courts for minor shortcomings etc. why cant UKBA be treated like that...

[sherkhan297]

Application Timeline
Eligibility criteria: 2yr WP + 3yr Tier 1 + 1yr ILR (Self + Wife)
Method of Application: NCS Chelmsford
Date of Application: 24/07/2014
Date of receipt by UKBA: 28/07/2014
Date of debit of fees: 07/08/2014
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 09/08/2014 (dated 06/08/2014)
Date of receipt of approval: waiting
Date of Ceremony: waiting

It has been 6 months on 28/01/15 since reciept by ukba. I only called the HO from the 6th month
HO Call dates -
02/01/2015 - mentioned its under consideration and to wait until 28/1/15 as 6 months will be complete then. The person also mentioned that I could write a letter if I didn't get anything until then. Also mentioned that HO would send out a letter to us in case it was getting delayed beyond 6 months.
22/01/15 - same response, under consideration and to wait until 28/01/15 as that's when 6 months are up.
28/01/15 - same response, under consideration, but now this person said the 6 months will be up on 06/02/15 not 28/01/15 as the fees was deducted on 06/08/14 and caseworker allocated at that time! So to wait another week until 06/02/15. He mentioned he will put in the notes to remind caseworker, but doubt this really helped as nothing so far and it's 06/02/15 day after.

Plan to call tomorrow 05/02/15 but expecting the same response. Hence will be writing a letter as well early next week with a few queries around my application (which was in theory a very straight forward application).

Would anyone know the address where we are to post the letter to? as I couldn't find it on their site.

I see there's a few people applied in may/June/July 2014 and still waiting.. Hope we all get this soon!

Thanks very much for all the help

Regards

[sandy131]

My timeline:
Eligibility criteria: Tier 1+ILR
Language criteria met: NARIC+Life in UK test
Current nationality: Indian
Method of application: NCS
Council name if NCS used: Tower Hamlets
Date of application: 29/12/2014
Payment method: Credit Card
Date of acknowledgment: 06/01/2015
Date of debit or clearance of fees: 06/01/2015
Date approval received: 03/02/2015(dated 24/01/2015)
Date of ceremony: 12/02/2015

Got the date for the ceremony,many thanks All.

[PAK321]

Thanks so much for your kind replies.

Recent FOI figures showing a huge backlog and I think average time is around 8/9 months now except the lucky ones who are getting the decisions quicker.

Surely, they is a way to raise our protest at a public forum where our concerns can be heard and reach out to the bosses. I feel, if perhaps we can all start campaigning for this, may be we can expect a fair treatment for us and for all the people applying in the future. I'm talking about those people waiting for 6 months and more. We are settled now and apparently hold the same rights as Brits, so why not we voice out like the passport delays issues and I'm sure this will do the trick?

Home office is a reactive institute and for such organisations, the pressure must be on to get things done. Just saying, please feel free to give your opinion.

AM in for it, where or how do we start.

me 2, ready to go on streets, even after i got my certificate, i will do it for other upcoming applicants.

[happygirl0580]

Thanks so much for your kind replies.

Recent FOI figures showing a huge backlog and I think average time is around 8/9 months now except the lucky ones who are getting the decisions quicker.

Surely, they is a way to raise our protest at a public forum where our concerns can be heard and reach out to the bosses. I feel, if perhaps we can all start campaigning for this, may be we can expect a fair treatment for us and for all the people applying in the future. I'm talking about those people waiting for 6 months and more. We are settled now and apparently hold the same rights as Brits, so why not we voice out like the passport delays issues and I'm sure this will do the trick?

Home office is a reactive institute and for such organisations, the pressure must be on to get things done. Just saying, please feel free to give your opinion.

am silk and tired of HO, please how do we start?
AM in for it, where or how do we start.

[nkim2222]

Hi all i got a ceremony invitation at Newham council finally my name appeared on the lis:
10 years stay in UK .
Approved on 24th jan received 30th jan 2015.
Ceremony 10th feb 2015.

when did you apply?

I applied on 16th June 2014 ..am one of those who applied when there was transitions LoooooooL..But i was patient and positive i just kept myself buzy but i could feel the pain of the waiting game LooL..

[ollymma]

Application Timeline
Eligibility criteria: 2yr HSMP + 3yr Tier 1 (+ 1yr ILR (Self + Wife + Children)
Method of application: Postal (through Solicitor)
Date sent to UKBA: 07/01/2015
Date of receipt by UKBA: 08/01/2015
Date of debit of fees: 14/01/2015
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 19/01/2015 (dated 14/01/2015)
Date of receipt of approval: 04/02/2015 (dated 02/02/2015)
Date of Ceremony: Awaiting letter from my Council Register Office (Hopefully next Wednesday 11/02/2015)

[zabizabi]

[quote="nkim2222"]Hi all i got a ceremony invitation at Newham council finally my name appeared on the lis:
10 years stay in UK .
Approved on 24th jan received 30th jan 2015.
Ceremony 10th feb 2015.

when did you apply?