Naturalisation application processing timelines (only)

[akhurshid]

Your application is not lost. Status on royal mail website is wrong. Happened to me too but it was eventually updated. Even the fee that was deducted took couple of days to show on the statement. If HO is saying they have received the parcel, I wouldn't worry about it.

[waitwaitwait]

It is impressive to see that they have sent an approval in less than a month.

In my case I am still waiting for an acknowledgement or payment being taken. Moreover I am quite stressed as I applied through NCS and as I paid them £75 fee, they sent my app by special delivery. I applied on 10/10/2014(Friday) and they said it will be sent on 13th (Monday) so hopefully delivered on 14th (Tuesday).

On royal mail website it keeps saying "progressing through our network". I called Royal mail who said if it stays like that for 14 days then we will consider it lost. I spoke to council and they said they contacted HO and checked they have not received it so I can re-apply again for free. To which I asked them what about LIUK test certificate as original one was sent in the app and now I don't have it. HO won't accept photocopy,get the references again. Also, if HO receives 2 apps would that mean I will be charged £906 twice?

Then I decided to call HO and got through to a very helpful lady and explained the situation, she took my Special delivery ref no. and confirmed the parcel has been received on 14/10/2014, she took my name/DOB/Nationality to check if my app is scanned on the system and said she couldnt find any details as it can take 2 weeks for app to be scanned on the system from when it is received. I double checked with her and she said that ref no. parcel was defo received on 14th.

I spoke to council again who said they got different info but they hope the info I got is right.

I am waiting for the acknowledgement and hoping for the best as I won't be happy to do LIUK again due to Royal mail loosing my package containing the docs (if they have lost it). Thank god I applied via NCS so all the originals are with me safe at home. As it is scary if Royal mail can loose a parcel like that which can easily have someone's original passport/BRP/Marriage certificate and other imp docs.
My timeline:

Eligibility criteria:Married to BC + ILR
(Living in UK for 8 years)
Language criteria met: B1-Trinity college +LIUK
Method of application: NCS
Council name if NCS used: Hastings
Date of application: 10/10/2014
Payment method : Credit Card
Date of acknowledgment: Waiting
Date of debit or clearance of fees: waiting
Date approval received: Waiting
Date of ceremony:Waiting

[Surrey_WP_Holder]

Eligibility criteria: 5 years + 1 year ILR
Language criteria met: UK Master Degree
Method of application: NCS
Council name if NCS used: Reading
Date Of Application : 16/10/2014
Payment Method : Debit Card
Date Of Receipt by UKBA : 20/10/2014
Date Of Debit Or Clearance of Fees : Waiting
Date Of Acknowledgment : Waiting
Date Approval Received : Waiting
Date Of Ceremony : Waiting

[Raniya28]

@Rayina28...Awesome news! and yet so quick..I have been waiting 5 months so less than a month is impressive. Wish HO would blow the dust off my application and get STARTED!

Wish You best of luck..

[boone]

@Rayina28...Awesome news! and yet so quick..I have been waiting 5 months so less than a month is impressive. Wish HO would blow the dust off my application and get STARTED!

[Raniya28]

Eligibility criteria: Married to British Citizen 3 years
ILR:16.10.2013(about 11 months)
Language criteria: Life in the UK+B1
Current nationality: Pakistani 
Method of application:Self Royal mail
Date of application: 23/09/2014
Payment method:Direct Debit
Date of Fee deducted :30.09.2014
Date of acknowledgement: 03/10/2014
Date approval received: 22/10/2014 letter dated 19.10.2014
Date of ceremony: Waiting

Your approval took less than a month to complete, is this right?

I was wondering the same thing.

yup its true.I am so happy today

[Raniya28]

yes its true.i was also shocked when I saw the letter.I thought may be something is wrong.But by the grace of God they approved my application.

Eligibility criteria: Married to British Citizen 3 years
ILR:16.10.2013(about 11 months)
Language criteria: Life in the UK+B1
Current nationality: Pakistani 
Method of application:Self Royal mail
Date of application: 23/09/2014
Payment method:Direct Debit
Date of Fee deducted :30.09.2014
Date of acknowledgement: 03/10/2014
Date approval received: 22/10/2014 letter dated 19.10.2014
Date of ceremony: Waiting

Your approval took less than a month to complete, is this right?

I was wondering the same thing.

[cbuk]

Eligibility criteria: Married to British Citizen 3 years
ILR:16.10.2013(about 11 months)
Language criteria: Life in the UK+B1
Current nationality: Pakistani 
Method of application:Self Royal mail
Date of application: 23/09/2014
Payment method:Direct Debit
Date of Fee deducted :30.09.2014
Date of acknowledgement: 03/10/2014
Date approval received: 22/10/2014 letter dated 19.10.2014
Date of ceremony: Waiting

Your approval took less than a month to complete, is this right?

I was wondering the same thing.

[boone]

Eligibility criteria: Married to British Citizen 3 years
ILR:16.10.2013(about 11 months)
Language criteria: Life in the UK+B1
Current nationality: Pakistani 
Method of application:Self Royal mail
Date of application: 23/09/2014
Payment method:Direct Debit
Date of Fee deducted :30.09.2014
Date of acknowledgement: 03/10/2014
Date approval received: 22/10/2014 letter dated 19.10.2014
Date of ceremony: Waiting

Your approval took less than a month to complete, is this right?

[Raniya28]

Eligibility criteria: Married to British Citizen 3 years
ILR:16.10.2013(about 11 months)
Language criteria: Life in the UK+B1
Current nationality: Pakistani 
Method of application:Self Royal mail
Date of application: 23/09/2014
Payment method:Direct Debit
Date of Fee deducted :30.09.2014
Date of acknowledgement: 03/10/2014
Date approval received: 22/10/2014 letter dated 19.10.2014
Date of ceremony: Waiting

[shaik719]

Hi everyone
Today received my approval ie 22/10/14 dated 13/10/14
I've applied on 21/07/14. Good luck to all the applicants waiting for their ones

[Mohammed7]

Hi
My wife naturlisation timeline
Spouse Visa,with ILR one year
Date sent 14th July 2014 via Hackney Council NCS
Date recieved by UKBA: 15th July
Date of debit fee:22nd July
Acknowldgement letter recieved:28th July
Date of Approval: 2nd october
Ceremony Date: 6th Nov

Looks like alot of peoples approval is coming through
All the best for everyone, the waiting game is hard, im glad mine is over with

[a7medibrahim]

2014 2:52 pm

Criteria ILR +3YRS SPOUSE OF BC
Liuk +toiec, then updated 1/10/14 (esol trinity collage)
Method :Ncs
Date of sending :13/6/2014
Date of debit fee :1/7/2014
Date of acknowledge :26/6/2014
Date of approval :waiting
Date of ceremony :waiting

Application was on hold because English language test was toiec which is not approved provider (ETS)any more.new english test was submitted 2 weeks ago, no response. Any one got similar situation please??any application was on hold, got response back??

[nkim2222]

Still waiting. .wao its been along wait lool..but am good no sstress whatsoever. . I waited for 10 years so months its nothing to me.. ..loool..

[waiting8347]

Application Timeline
Eligibility criteria: 12 yrs ILR, 13+ yrs marriage to British spouse
Nationality: New Zealand
Method of application: Postal
Date of application: 1 July 2014
Date of receipt by UKBA: 9 July 2014
Date of debit of fees: 9 July 2014
Date of receipt of approval: still waiting
Date of Ceremony: 3 December 2014

2 days ago (18 Oct 2014) I received a letter from my local council (dated 17 Oct 2014) inviting me to my New Citizenship Ceremony on 3 Dec 2014 ... however, I still haven't received my letter from the Home Office confirming approval of my application!! The last piece of correspondence I received from them was in July! Is it common to receive the ceremony invite letter from your local council before receiving the official Home Office approval letter? I understand I have to bring the letter from the Home Office to my citizenship ceremony, so should I telephone the HO ASAP to notify them and ask for a duplicate to be sent? Worried it's got lost in the post - our local posties are always posting other people's mail (from the other side of town!) through out letterbox.

[Amafia]

Applicant : Self
Eligibility Criteria : 2 Years Spouse Visa + 1 Year ILR
Language Criteria Met : B1 English Test Certificate and Life In The UK Test
Current Nationality : INDIAN
Method Of Application : POST
Date Of Application : 01/09/2014
Payment Method : Debit Card
Date Of Receipt by UKBA : 02/09/2014
Date Of Debit Or Clearance of Fees : 05/09/2014
Date Of Acknowledgment : 10/09/2014 (Dated 04/09/2014)
Date Approval Received : Just Cant Wait For It....... Will Be POSITIVE
Date Of Ceremony : Will Be Booked As Soon As The Good News Arrives

[Rahel1984]

Eligibility criteria: 5yrs work permit + 1 year ILR
Language criteria met: LIUK + B1
Method of application: NCS Edinburgh
Date of application: 11/07/2014
Payment method: CreditCard
Date of receipt by UKBA: 15/07/2014
Clearance of fees: 22/07/2014
Date of acknowledgment: received 25/07/2014
Date of approval letter: Waiting
Date of ceremony: Waiting

I applied 3 days b4 urs and still waiting.

[alatrish]

Eligibility criteria: 5yrs work permit + 1 year ILR
Language criteria met: LIUK + B1
Method of application: NCS Edinburgh
Date of application: 11/07/2014
Payment method: CreditCard
Date of receipt by UKBA: 15/07/2014
Clearance of fees: 22/07/2014
Date of acknowledgment: received 25/07/2014
Date of approval letter: Waiting
Date of ceremony: Waiting

[cbuk]

Eligibility criteria: 3yrs (Spouse of BC) + 2 year ILR
Language criteria met: LIUK + B1
Method of application: NCS Kingston
Date of application: 22/08/2014
Payment method: CreditCard
Date of receipt by UKBA: 26/08/2014
Clearance of fees: 29/08/2014
Date of acknowledgment: received 29/08/2014
Date of approval letter: received *** Waiting ***
Date of ceremony: *** Waiting ***

[Bfc74]

Application Timeline
Eligibility criteria: 10 years long residency + 13 month ILR
Method of application: send through solicitor
Date of application: 13 july 2014
Date of receipt by UKBA: 15 july 2014
Date of debit of fees: 24 july 2014
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 26 july 2014 (dated 24 july 2014)
Date of receipt of approval: still waiting...........
Date of Ceremony: waiting.....

[smshad]

Hi everyone,
My wife's naturalization application is now approved, we received approval letter today. No email received for final approval.

Applied on 16th August 2014 through Rutherglen Council (Glasgow). Fee deducted on 01st September 2014. Approval letter dated 11th October received on 18th October.

My application took 4 months and wife's application took less than 2 months. It was quick may be because we mentioned my application reference in my wife's application.

Things are very random at HO, my friend applied for his six months old son on 2nd June same day as me but he received approval yesterday.

Still Naturalisation department is not bad as ILR dept.

I hope everyone else waiting will get their decision soon.

Hi Everyone,
(Eid Mubarak to brothers and sisters)

I received approval for British citizenship today. It took exactly 4 months.

Details:
10 years - Long residence ILR then 13 months stay on ILR.
UK Master’s degree for English language requirement.
Life in the UK test passed in 2012.

Saturday 31st May, 2014: Applied through Rutherglen Council (Glasgow)
Wednesday 04th June, 2014: Received by Home Office
Fee debited and acknowledgment received within 2 weeks of application.
04/10/14: Approval letter received (letter dated 24/09/2014)
Ceremony to be booked.

Now waiting for wife’s citizenship approval, applied on 16th August 2014.

Hope those who are waiting will get their approvals soon. Keep calm and don’t waste time and money calling them before 4.5 months.

Regards,
Muhammad

[beehive]

ILR Date: April 2011
Eligibility criteria:
Language criteria : UK Masters and Bachelors degrees
Current nationality: Ghanaian
Method of application: Postal
Council name if NCS used: N/A
Date of application: 03/10/2014
Payment method CC/DC, Personal cheque, Bankers cheque etc: Debit Card
Date of receipt by UKBA: 06/10/2014
Date of debit or clearance of fees: 15/10/2014/ (Debit)
Date of Acknowledgement: 16/10/2014 ( by email)
Date approval received:
Date of ceremony:

[neguk1984]

Hi all,
I got my citizenship today, sooo happy
Good luck for all still waiting...

Eligibility criteria: 5yrs + 1yr PR
Language criteria met: B1-Trinity college
Method of application: NCS
Council name if NCS used: Highbury and Islington
Date of application: 14/07/14
Payment method : Debit Card
Date of acknowledgment: 28/07/14 (dated 24/07)
Date of debit or clearance of fees: 24/07/14
Date approval received: 17/10/14 (dated 15/10, from the consul not HO)
Date of ceremony: 07/11/14

By the way I had applied confirming my Permanent Residence last Aug 2013, I think due to the fact that I did that, it does speed up things a little. A huge thank you to this website and all its members!!!!

[terreis]

Not really we are there still waiting, I applied 27/05/14 and still no news yet. It seems to me no difference between UKBA and Homeoffice.

I feel your pain. My application was acknowledged by the Home Office on the 29/05/2014 and still have not heard anything. Can you post as soon as you hear anything, thank you

I am with you as well, guys. I sent my application on 2 June, money taken on 9 June. I really did think I had a very straightforward case (EU citizen here for 13 years, and married to BC for 7) ... Yet, here we are, 4.5 months onwards, and frustratedly seeing lots of people getting to queue-jump after having applied long after me (I know that's not their fault, but only of how inefficient and random the relevant HO people seem to be...). The worrying thing is that the badly-named 'help line' are actually not even allowed to tell you if your application has been successful, so if, say, the brown envelope has gone missing in the post, I don't know how we would ever know... I am honestly despairing by now...

[bobo77]

Eligibility criteria: HSMP 2005
(Living in UK for 8 years)
Language criteria met: B1-Trinity college +LIUK
Method of application: NCS
Council name if NCS used: Southwark
Date of application: 15/10/2014
Payment method : Debit Card
Date of acknowledgment: Waiting
Date of debit or clearance of fees: Waiting
Date approval received: Waiting
Date of ceremony: Waiting