Extension or Refund after appt is scheduled for Nat & Reg?

[hukjeff]

My friend is a Romanian citizen living in UK. She applied for Naturalisation & Registration, paid the almost 3,000BP fee, and received an appointment date.

Before the Nat & Reg appointment, it was discovered she owed back taxes, and she negotiated a 3-month period in which to pay them.

However, UK Visa & Immigration stated that the time limit to reschedule the appointment is 30 days. They stated she would have to re-pay the 3,000 BP for a new appointment after her 3-month payment period is done.

Is this valid? All they have done is schedule an appointment, and they refuse to refund any of the 3,000 BP fee? They have done almost nothing for that money; how is it fair to not even hold an appointment, and lose the entire fee because of a delay to pay the deliquent tax, which is holding up the immigration process?

Is there no way to: 1) receive a refund, so it can be re-used later, or 2) receive a 2-month extension for the appointment, so the delinquent taxes can be paid and the citizenship process completed?

Thank you,
J.Huk

[CR001]

What appointment are you talking about?

Who is saying she has to repay £3000?

How many people has your 'friend' applied for?

There is no 'appointment' to apply for citizenship. It is postal only or through NCS. It also doesn't cost £3000 per person.

[noajthan]

Some hard lessons here about understanding requirements and planning ahead.

Unfortunately, the HO do not exist to be 'fair'.
The officers and clerks will simply apply current rules and procedures; they may not have any discretion in this area.

If there is a debt payment plan in place (that can be proved, in writing) then it may not be necessary to reschedule;
(the debts could well be cleared by the time the case is actually picked up and processed).

What appointment is this anyway?

It's slightly unclear how the fee (presumably for a couple) has been paid in advance.
Who has been paid?

Even applying via NCS you would only pay the NCS fee of £50-£70 or so (each) upfront.
The HO only collect their payment when they receive the application.