General Discussion During Naturalisation Application Process

[Wanderingrooh]

Hi all - I applied for citizenship online 04/02, UKVAS appointment 06/02. I received receipt for payment of fee however no other correspondence since application submitted. If Home office requires further information from me, will they email or post ? I would like to check progress, is there anyway I can do this ? Thank you

Could be either but email preferably I would imagine.
Unfortunately there is no way to follow up on your application...trust me, I have tried everything

[Britney99]

Thank you. I find it a bit odd that I haven’t heard from them since I paid them the £1300 plus fee.

[Anthony2]

Where you have to list previous UK immigration applications, which date do you have to put when the application was made?

Is it the date you applied (posted the application), the confirmation letter date or the date the application was approved and the visa was granted?

I asked the question in this discussion a few months ago but no one replied.

Application approval date.

Many thanks.

Can I please ask what do I put as the reference number?
Is it the Case ID's for the previous three applications or the BRP numbers? If it is BRP numbers then I have the previous two, but the original spouse visa is a stamp the passport, would that be the VAF number then or is it the bigger red number in the top right corner?

Thanks.

[AnotherUUID]

Many thanks.

Can I please ask what do I put as the reference number?
Is it the Case ID's for the previous three applications or the BRP numbers? If it is BRP numbers then I have the previous two, but the original spouse visa is a stamp the passport, would that be the VAF number then or is it the bigger red number in the top right corner?

Thanks.

Yes, the HO reference numbers would be the Case IDs for your previous applications. Sometimes you might see "Our Ref" instead of "Case ID", this can also be used if there's no Case ID.

[adazion]

Hello, sorry dont have any reply, dont know how to start any question.
So, i applied for my naturalization in May 2018, i was sent a good behaviour questionaire which i answered well with suporting documents. August 2018 i was refused! I applied for reconsideration which has been approved. however i have not received letter inviting me for a swearing ceremony.
My QUESTIONS ARE-
1. ANY IDEA HOW LONG SWEARING LETTER TAKES TO ARRIVE AFTER SUCCESSFUL RECONSIDERATION APPLICATION?
2. CAN I BOOK APPOINTMENT WITH THE COUNCIL PENDING LETTER OF INVITATION FOR SWEARING IN?

I have already booked to go on holiday in April, and am aware that once you have received your certificate of naturalization, you have literally 5 days to send the ILR/PR BRP Card unless you get fined a 1000 GBP by the home office. Also, if i dont get the letter soon ,it might delay in my passport application and affect travel plans. and wont get a refund if i cancel the ticket?
Any suggestions or answers will be appreciated.

Hello Guys,
quick update. I have received my invitation letter and attended my citizenship ceremony. Just waiting for my British passport and passport of my 'home' country to arrive. I hope this happens soon as i have holiday booked since january, way before i got my approval letter.

[Blower46]

My wife made an on line application on 26th February and sent in all the supporting documents including passports three days later. However one month later we are still waiting for a letter to confirm her biometrics enrolement. She had a message saying that the application had been confirmed but there was nothing to say about ensuring that you had enrolled your biometrics. Only by reading here we have found out that the biometrics should have been enrolled as there was a link at the bottom of the on line form and that the should have been done within 15 working days of the application which has now passed. She has printed the form out this morning and will take to the post office tomorrow however it has asks for passports as a form of identification- unfortunately they are at the Home Office. She does have copies of those documents so she will take them with her tomorrow but wanted to understand what would happen now with the late application of the biometrics? For me the confirmation email should also remind you that you need to print out from the online application they biometrics form this is not very clear at all. Any advice would be most helpful here.

[samsindo]

Dear all,

I have made an online application on the 14/11/2018 after obtaining an ILR for 1 year through the 10 year route. However I have not received any response from the office regarding the decision, which is not normal considering that people receive their reponse within a month or two. I wonder if there is anything I can do to speed it up as it's making me very anxious these days . Does this happen frequently with other applicants?

Thanks

[CR001]

Dear all,

I have made an online application on the 14/11/2018 after obtaining an ILR for 1 year through the 10 year route. However I have not received any response from the office regarding the decision, which is not normal considering that people receive their reponse within a month or two. I wonder if there is anything I can do to speed it up as it's making me very anxious these days . Does this happen frequently with other applicants?

Thanks

Not much you can do to speed it up. HO clearly states it can take up to 6 months and it sometimes takes longer.

[Ditka16]

Hi All, I am about to reapply for naturalisation which was rejected 4 years ago due to no clear 10 years entry. Refusal letter state to reapply in April 2019. My question is do I need to retake B1 level 3 Trinity college test which was used in last naturalisation application ? Thanks in advance

[Szilvana]

Hey folks, I submitted my application yesterday and received an email receipt today, but I'm full of questions. I attempted to email HO but obviously got a "no-one will read your email" response.
Read through the AN guide and booklets (which is now changed), however it's still not clear:
How long will it take to get my passport back? (I have business and holiday trips planned)
It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too?
If I send all IDs, how will I prove who I am?!

Please help

[MsSteel]

Hey folks, I submitted my application yesterday and received an email receipt today, but I'm full of questions. I attempted to email HO but obviously got a "no-one will read your email" response.
Read through the AN guide and booklets (which is now changed), however it's still not clear:
How long will it take to get my passport back? (I have business and holiday trips planned)
It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too?
If I send all IDs, how will I prove who I am?!

Please help

Hi Szilvana, here's the link to the Gov.uk website on how to get your passport back:
https://www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned

VERY IMPORTANT: When you are at the "Getting Started" stage of completing the form, make sure you click NO to the question "Do you want to withdraw the application?"...for obvious reasons!

To answer some of your questions:

It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
I sent my EU ID card as I used that to apply for citizenship (paper form) and sent a photocopy of all pages of my passport.

-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
Yes you do.

-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
I sent the same proof of address for the past 5 years as I did when applying for PR as well as Council Tax bills for the following year.

-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too? I'm afraid I don't know the answer to this.

If there's something missing, I'm sure the caseworker assigned to your application will get in touch to get them.

Good luck!
(I submitted my AN application via post last week!)

[MsSteel]

Hi All, I am about to reapply for naturalisation which was rejected 4 years ago due to no clear 10 years entry. Refusal letter state to reapply in April 2019. My question is do I need to retake B1 level 3 Trinity college test which was used in last naturalisation application ? Thanks in advance

Hi Ditka, unfortunately your test is only valid for 2 years so you have to retake the test.
Here's the gov.uk link to check the validity of your test:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... uage-tests

[CR001]

Hi All, I am about to reapply for naturalisation which was rejected 4 years ago due to no clear 10 years entry. Refusal letter state to reapply in April 2019. My question is do I need to retake B1 level 3 Trinity college test which was used in last naturalisation application ? Thanks in advance

Hi Ditka, unfortunately your test is only valid for 2 years so you have to retake the test.
Here's the gov.uk link to check the validity of your test:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... uage-tests

An expired test can be used if it is a test on the current HO list, from an HO approved test provider and was used in a previous immigration application.

[Szilvana]

Hey folks, I submitted my application yesterday and received an email receipt today, but I'm full of questions. I attempted to email HO but obviously got a "no-one will read your email" response.
Read through the AN guide and booklets (which is now changed), however it's still not clear:
How long will it take to get my passport back? (I have business and holiday trips planned)
It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too?
If I send all IDs, how will I prove who I am?!

Please help

Hi Szilvana, here's the link to the Gov.uk website on how to get your passport back:
https://www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned

VERY IMPORTANT: When you are at the "Getting Started" stage of completing the form, make sure you click NO to the question "Do you want to withdraw the application?"...for obvious reasons!

To answer some of your questions:

It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
I sent my EU ID card as I used that to apply for citizenship (paper form) and sent a photocopy of all pages of my passport.

-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
Yes you do.

-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
I sent the same proof of address for the past 5 years as I did when applying for PR as well as Council Tax bills for the following year.

-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too? I'm afraid I don't know the answer to this.

If there's something missing, I'm sure the caseworker assigned to your application will get in touch to get them.

Good luck!
(I submitted my AN application via post last week!)

Thank you!!! I have no ID card, so it seems I have to send in everything.. I might try to get a certified copy at the post office before I post them.

[MsSteel]

Hey folks, I submitted my application yesterday and received an email receipt today, but I'm full of questions. I attempted to email HO but obviously got a "no-one will read your email" response.
Read through the AN guide and booklets (which is now changed), however it's still not clear:
How long will it take to get my passport back? (I have business and holiday trips planned)
It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too?
If I send all IDs, how will I prove who I am?!

Please help

Hi Szilvana, here's the link to the Gov.uk website on how to get your passport back:
https://www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned

VERY IMPORTANT: When you are at the "Getting Started" stage of completing the form, make sure you click NO to the question "Do you want to withdraw the application?"...for obvious reasons!

To answer some of your questions:

It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
I sent my EU ID card as I used that to apply for citizenship (paper form) and sent a photocopy of all pages of my passport.

-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
Yes you do.

-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
I sent the same proof of address for the past 5 years as I did when applying for PR as well as Council Tax bills for the following year.

-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too? I'm afraid I don't know the answer to this.

If there's something missing, I'm sure the caseworker assigned to your application will get in touch to get them.

Good luck!
(I submitted my AN application via post last week!)

Thank you!!! I have no ID card, so it seems I have to send in everything.. I might try to get a certified copy at the post office before I post them.

Hi again, according to another forum of experts on naturalisation (UKCEN on FB), the HO does not accept certified copies of passport from the post office. They recommend the copies be certified by a solicitor or notary and if you're in London, one of their panel lawyers would do it for free.
I'd wait to see what the moderator here says about this as I'm not qualified to advise and have got it wrong on another issue!

[Szilvana]

Hey folks, I submitted my application yesterday and received an email receipt today, but I'm full of questions. I attempted to email HO but obviously got a "no-one will read your email" response.
Read through the AN guide and booklets (which is now changed), however it's still not clear:
How long will it take to get my passport back? (I have business and holiday trips planned)
It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too?
If I send all IDs, how will I prove who I am?!

Please help

Hi Szilvana, here's the link to the Gov.uk website on how to get your passport back:
https://www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned

VERY IMPORTANT: When you are at the "Getting Started" stage of completing the form, make sure you click NO to the question "Do you want to withdraw the application?"...for obvious reasons!

To answer some of your questions:

It is not straight forward which IDs do I need to send:
-passport (I assume this is mandatory since the nationality checking service ceased to exist)
I sent my EU ID card as I used that to apply for citizenship (paper form) and sent a photocopy of all pages of my passport.

-driving licence (do I need to send if I used it to book my Life in the UK test?)
Yes you do.

-permanent residence card (is it suitable proof of address for the past 5 year or do I need to send other documents (card issued 09 July 2018))
I sent the same proof of address for the past 5 years as I did when applying for PR as well as Council Tax bills for the following year.

-biometric residence permit-do I need to post this too? I'm afraid I don't know the answer to this.

If there's something missing, I'm sure the caseworker assigned to your application will get in touch to get them.

Good luck!
(I submitted my AN application via post last week!)

Thank you!!! I have no ID card, so it seems I have to send in everything.. I might try to get a certified copy at the post office before I post them.

Hi again, according to another forum of experts on naturalisation (UKCEN on FB), the HO does not accept certified copies of passport from the post office. They recommend the copies be certified by a solicitor or notary and if you're in London, one of their panel lawyers would do it for free.
I'd wait to see what the moderator here says about this as I'm not qualified to advise and have got it wrong on another issue!

Sorry, what I meant was I'd keep the copy in case I need any form of ID and would send the original with my application.
Thank you

[alterhase58]

For AN application if you apply by post then you need to send originals. If using online upload and UKVCAS you keep your original.

[Szilvana]

For AN application if you apply by post then you need to send originals. If using online upload and UKVCAS you keep your original.

I applied online but through the existing route - which means no link to UKVCAS

[Ditka16]

Hi All, I am about to reapply for naturalisation which was rejected 4 years ago due to no clear 10 years entry. Refusal letter state to reapply in April 2019. My question is do I need to retake B1 level 3 Trinity college test which was used in last naturalisation application ? Thanks in advance

Hi Ditka, unfortunately your test is only valid for 2 years so you have to retake the test.
Here's the gov.uk link to check the validity of your test:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... uage-tests

An expired test can be used if it is a test on the current HO list, from an HO approved test provider and was used in a previous immigration application.

Thanks , so that means I can use it again even if application was unsuccessful last time ?

[CR001]

Hi All, I am about to reapply for naturalisation which was rejected 4 years ago due to no clear 10 years entry. Refusal letter state to reapply in April 2019. My question is do I need to retake B1 level 3 Trinity college test which was used in last naturalisation application ? Thanks in advance

Hi Ditka, unfortunately your test is only valid for 2 years so you have to retake the test.
Here's the gov.uk link to check the validity of your test:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... uage-tests

An expired test can be used if it is a test on the current HO list, from an HO approved test provider and was used in a previous immigration application.

Thanks , so that means I can use it again even if application was unsuccessful last time ?

If it meets the requirements as I stated, yes.

[chawki26]

Hi everyone,
question for those who used UKVCAS services.
i made an application on the 31 january2018 at Croydon centre ukvcas.
since that time i didn't receive any email or mail confirming the submission of my application.
more strange is, im still able to log into UKvcas and UK.gov website, and there the option ( Book apointment)
on the websites, it's like i didn't attend an appointment to submit my doc and my biometric.
Please, would like to hear from you,
- how was your appointment?
- did you receive any email or mail to confirm the reception of the documents ?
- is it a website issue to still be able to click on (BOOK APPOINTMENT) on both websites or there is stg wrong with my application at the time of submitting it at UKVCAS Croydon, as the staff there didn't know what they are doing at all

thank you

[CR001]

Hi everyone,
question for those who used UKVCAS services.
i made an application on the 31 january2018 at Croydon centre ukvcas.
since that time i didn't receive any email or mail confirming the submission of my application.
more strange is, im still able to log into UKvcas and UK.gov website, and there the option ( Book apointment)
on the websites, it's like i didn't attend an appointment to submit my doc and my biometric.
Please, would like to hear from you,
- how was your appointment?
- did you receive any email or mail to confirm the reception of the documents ?
- is it a website issue to still be able to click on (BOOK APPOINTMENT) on both websites or there is stg wrong with my application at the time of submitting it at UKVCAS Croydon, as the staff there didn't know what they are doing at all

thank you

You should post your question in the existing UKCVAS experience topic we already have rather than in the General Discussion topic..

british-citizenship/experiences-using-n ... 7-440.html

[chawki26]

thank you

[RJS]

Hi everyone,

I've submitted my citizenship application online via the gov.uk site and am waiting to progress to the "Commercial Partner Site" which I presume will be the UKCVAS Site everyone is talking about. I can't do it now as the page is erroring out, so I will try tomorrow.

The process seems simple enough thanks to this forum and the clear instructions on the forms.

My question is:

When I attend the biometrics appointment, I'm aware I need to bring my current non-British Passport - will they keep this passport for the duration of the application processing time (circa 6 months) or will they check it and then return it to me? As you might've guessed, I'm asking as I have some critical travel coming up over the next 6 months!

Thank you so much
R

[CR001]

Hi everyone,

I've submitted my citizenship application online via the gov.uk site and am waiting to progress to the "Commercial Partner Site" which I presume will be the UKCVAS Site everyone is talking about. I can't do it now as the page is erroring out, so I will try tomorrow.

The process seems simple enough thanks to this forum and the clear instructions on the forms.

My question is:

When I attend the biometrics appointment, I'm aware I need to bring my current non-British Passport - will they keep this passport for the duration of the application processing time (circa 6 months) or will they check it and then return it to me? As you might've guessed, I'm asking as I have some critical travel coming up over the next 6 months!

Thank you so much
R

No they don't keep the passport. You are free to travel once your appointment is done.