Naturalisation application processing timelines (only)

[ukforever]

Application Timeline

Eligibility criteria: 2 years spouse of BC+3.5 years settlement.
Method of application: NCS peterborough.
Date of application:15/03/2013(they post Thursdays only,so till the 21st)
Date of receipt by UKBA: 22/03/2013
Date of debit of fees:TBC
Date of receipt of acknowledgement:TBC
Date of receipt of approval: TBC
Date of Ceremony:TBC

we had to wait 1 week for our application to be sent,we booked the NCS appointment for the friday 15/03 but been told it would be sent the week after on thursday the 21st..we checked today the royal mail tracking system and the application was sent on thursday and the home office received it Friday the 22nd ..so,lets hope everything is going to be ok..good luck for everyone who is waiting for a positive outcome.

[R&F]

I applied via NCS on the 13/03/13 and they still have not debited the fee gave debit card details.
Not sure if anyone else facing such delays?

Me, I applied on the 15th, and still nothing has been debited from my credit card.

It appears that the price increase has caused a boom on applications, which will make everything slower.

[ZAB2121]

Eligibility criteria: 5 Years (WP, Tier1) + 1 Year ILR
Method of application: Post
Date of application: 11th Feb 2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 16th Feb 2013
Date of acknowledgement: 16th Feb 2013
Date of debit of fees: 16th Feb 2013
Date of approval: 22nd Mar 2013 dated 20th Mar 2013
Date of ceremony: Waiting for invitation letter

UKBA kept my Original Life in UK certificate for some reason and returned my passport on 22nd along with an approval letter. I did send a special delivery envelop with my application.

I am now waiting for a 2nd Class Invitation letter delivery which might take ages. I did contact my chosen council for the ceremony date but they have no news based on my ukba reference number. I dont understand why dont they charge us an extra 10£ for letters to be sent with a special delivery?

[fearless2711]

Eligibility criteria: EEA National PR 5 Years + 1 Year. In the UK since 2000, exercising Treaty Rights from 2004 - present.
Method of application: NCS (Fareham)
Date of application: 13 March 2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 14 March 2013
Date of acknowledgement: Waiting
Date of debit of fees: Waiting
Date of approval: Waiting
Date of ceremony: Waiting

Have you received ack letter, I am still waiting for mine, I have applied on 12 March.

[anthropology]

hi antropology,
you should contact politely to NCS halifax,because you are the customer of this council,every council have the record of application they send to ukba and good thing is they have direct contact number of ukba to check your application,just go and speak them nicely.

Hi Kaka123,

I have tried contacting the NCS halifax however the only response they gave me was to contact the UKBA. They said there is nothing further they can do. Its incredibly frustrating since we have paid £850+ and the service is so poor, in any other walk of life you would not accept this standard so why when it comes to this?

Not sure what more I can do other than wait for the 6months to pass and then complain.

[kaka123]

Hi Alish,
if it is more than 6 months they will give you info,otherwise they will keep saying it is underconsideration.

[Alish60]

Hi Alish60 & Casnel,
i am also in the same boat,i applied for my wife on 29th January only received the acknowledgement letter on 1st of feb,note the following
1-if you see most the of the approval letter coming after 11 to 12 days through royalmail by 2nd class post,i can not understand why some people received the letter after 3 days and some of after 12 days

Hi Kaka
Thanks mate, valuable information. Could you please tell is about the communication via email? What did they tell you? Do they give update before 6 months?
Good luck to everyone who are still waiting.

[britisher]

Is anyone still waiting from February?

I applied on 15 Feb (through NCS - ack received on 28 Feb) and still awaiting for approval letter.

[kaka123]

hi antropology,
you should contact politely to NCS halifax,because you are the customer of this council,every council have the record of application they send to ukba and good thing is they have direct contact number of ukba to check your application,just go and speak them nicely.

[kaka123]

Hi Alish60 & Casnel,
i am also in the same boat,i applied for my wife on 29th January only received the acknowledgement letter on 1st of feb,note the following
1-if you see most the of the approval letter coming after 11 to 12 days through royalmail by 2nd class post,i can not understand why some people received the letter after 3 days and some of after 12 days ?

2-i called the nationality office but they said their call center is closed now & they are not dealing any inquiry over the telephone,he gave me email id which is NationalityProgress@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk,i sent the email but surprise they are very quick on reply back this email id,if you send email now,you will get the response within 2 working days.

3-they said they deal every application on date order but they are not,they increasing fee every April but not updating the systems.there is also very interesting comments on the following link
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... ing_timeli

4-Spain which is developing country of the europe and highest un employement rate,they have very good online tracking system,where you can track your application on every stage.

as this is civil services no one can force them for quicker processing.

[jinkazama_11]

Is anyone still waiting from February?

yes i am waiting as well, applied on 19/02. it seems my application is with some lazy case worker.

[ukforever]

They not give to u you should ask them befor left ncs

as i said before,my wife submitted her application a week ago,and they told her they will going to send it Thursday the 21st,apparently they send applications only once a week(every Thursday)so unless they had the envelop prepaid already then yes,but if they did not,i don't see how they can provide the tracking number before hand...thanks for the comments guys,i really appreciate it.

[Alish60]

we applied on 6 feb and received letter on 19 feb saying card detials is incorrect thanks to NCS...they filled my card details.

then i repaid on 26 feb and still waiting....

It was a waste of money mste, I wouldn't recommend using ncs to anyone unless they desperately need their passport while waiting for a outcome decision. It is undeniable that postals sre much quicker and smooth
Am I right?

[sun_ilr]

we applied on 6 feb and received letter on 19 feb saying card detials is incorrect thanks to NCS...they filled my card details.

then i repaid on 26 feb and still waiting....

[Alish60]

Any suggestions on how to get an update would be appreciated.
Thanks

Sorry to hear that mate. To be honest with you having a ukba reference number in hand, it is not possible for your application form to get lost.no one knows why but sadly some of us have to wait for a long 6 month and then we get the approval.before 6 months they won't give you any update.my friend was waiting for 6 months and then when he rang them they issued him with a approval letter.I personally think they are extreamly busy and sometimes they put uour applicstion somewhere and forget abouy it so yhe only option is to ring them after 6 months. But for your peace of mind I guarantee your application never get lost as long as you have received acknowledgement letter with a reference number on it.
Good luck to you and those sre still waiting including me

[anthropology]

Hi, applied in Nov 2012 and beginning to think the application has been lost as many have applied after and already had approval.
Any suggestions on how to get an update would be appreciated.
Thanks

Application Timeline

Eligibility criteria: 3yr spouse of BC
Method of application: NCS Halifax
Date of receipt by UKBA: 22/11/2012
Date of debit of fees: 26/11/2012
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 03/12/2012
Date of receipt of approval:
Date of Ceremony:

[Casnel]

Eligibility criteria: HSMP + 2 Years ILR
Method of application: NCS South Gloucestershire
Date of application: 25 Jan 2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 29 Jan 2013
Date of acknowledgement: 8 Feb 2013
Date of debit of fees: 31 Jan 2013
Date of approval:
Date of ceremony:

[Alish60]

I sent my 25 January, was received 29th of january. I am still waiting. Sent through NCS, South Gloucestershire.

Hope you get the approval soon.Looking at all the timelines I strongley think ukba don't have a clear estimate processing timeline. I applied on 11th of Feb and still heard nothing while other guys applied on 4th of March have already got their approvals. Could you please tell me more about your timeline, nature of application etc.

[Casnel]

I sent my 25 January, was received 29th of january. I am still waiting. Sent through NCS, South Gloucestershire.

[Alish60]

Is anyone still waiting from February?

[Alish60]

They not give to u you should ask them befor left ncs

I had a different experience, they said I need to ring them after1 day to get the tracking number. You can ring them now and get the numner.if your appointment is after 2 pm they have to send it the next working day, the ncs worker said.
Good luck.

[sarwar74]

They not give to u you should ask them befor left ncs

[ukforever]

Hi ukforever,
NCS must give you the printed letter which have royal mail tracking number and also it has NCS customer number,i can not believe NCS did not give you any letter,which council you have gone through ? must call council on monday or some council are open on satday also.

hi kaka,

they gave her a letter with ncs customer number,thats all,there is no royal mail tracking number,thanks for the info,we will call monday first thing,we might try to call tomorrow to find out if they are open orr not..thanks.

[kaka123]

Hi ukforever,
NCS must give you the printed letter which have royal mail tracking number and also it has NCS customer number,i can not believe NCS did not give you any letter,which council you have gone through ? must call council on monday or some council are open on satday also.

[ukforever]

I ask them same day when he check every thing and give me tracking same time

they did not give my wife anything,she made her application last week friday,they told her that they will send her application today thursday,so i don't know really,we need probably to call them monday to find out if they sent it today or not..thanks anyway.