got ILR - what's next?

[abhisheks9]

I got my ILR last month, and need to know what's next next year when i go for naturalization?
I am pretty much ok with British Naturalization application, but since i am indian i have to follow up it with Surrendering indian passport and then OCI application.
What's best source/link to get information about 1) surrendering indian passport and 2) apply OCI?
what are things i need to keep in mind when applying above 2, particularly about travelling out of UK etc? or any other thing which is important.

i am asking very vague questions but i am know less about these procedures since i was solely concerned about ILR till now.

Thanks

[ohara]

You've posted this in completely the wrong section but don't worry, hopefully a moderator will spot it and move it to the correct place soon.

There is no requirement to apply for naturalisation, but after ILR it is the next logical step if you intend to remain permanently in the UK. You are correct that you will unfortunately lose your Indian citizenship automatically upon becoming a British citizen.

Unless you are married to a British citizen, you must hold ILR for at least 12 months before applying for naturalisation.

You can read about OCI here: http://www.vfsglobal.com/India/UK/OCI.html

You are free to travel in and out of the UK at the moment with your Indian passport and ILR BRP.

If you use the Nationality Checking Service to apply for naturalisation, you do not need to send your original documents (passport/BRP etc) and you are free to travel in and out of the country while the application is in process. Be aware that roughly 3-6 weeks after your application is received, you will be invited to enrol biometric information. This can only be done in the UK and must be within a certain time frame (21 days I think). If you do need to travel, it's best to wait until after you've enrolled biometrics as there is no requirement to be in the country for the rest of the application process.

Once your application has been approved, you will be invited to a citizenship ceremony. You must attend this within 90 days of your approval letter. It is only once you have attended the ceremony that you are officially a British citizen.

Once you become a British citizen, your BRP is no longer valid for travel purposes and you must destroy and return it to the Home Office within 5 days of attending the ceremony. If you use the NCS JCAP service and apply for your British passport at the same time as naturalisation, your passport should be delivered to you within a week or so of attending the citizenship ceremony. Otherwise, you will need to apply for a British passport and attend an interview. It can take up to 6 weeks for this process in all.

If you need to travel urgently around the time you have received your citizenship approval letter, it is better to travel first using your Indian passport and BRP, then attend the ceremony when you are back. You should accept that there will be a period of a few weeks where you will not be able to travel.

[abhisheks9]

thank you @ohara
i am sorry, i didn't know about correct forum for this query?
thanks for link, i did read it, but still hoped to get more info here.

May be i didn't write correctly, but about travelling, my concern was not for next 12 months after ILR, but while my application for Naturalization -> to -> OCI is in process.

I more or less understand about Naturalization process (but you provided lot more useful info), what i need more clarity/information on what follows in regards to surrendering indian passport and applying OCI.

If i understand correctly, then process of Naturalization -> Surrender Indian Passport -> OCI all needs to be done without any delay in between? and can take around 6 months in total? while at this time i was wondering about ability to travel out of UK and/or to India?

[O_Relly]

Read Ohara's response again. It is all explained clearly.

So to reiterate.

If you use NCS (Nationality Checking Service - which is a way to submit your naturalization application), then they return your originals and you are free to travel outside the UK. However you need to keep in mind, you need to be present in the UK to do the bio metrics enrollment for naturalization.

Once citizenship certificate is received then and ceremony attended, your ILR status is invalid and you have 5 days to destroy and return your BRP , so potentially you can travel outside the UK, but cannot return to the UK without a Visa. You will be denied entry in India as you won't have a BRP( valid visa). The fact that you have a British citizenship certificate in hand doesn't matter.

So you will have to be quick to surrender you Indian passport and obtain the surrender certificate. Once you obtain surrender certificate, you can either apply for Indian Visa or OCI which is required to re-enter UK.

Indian Visa (1 to 2 weeks) is a quicker process whereas OCI is a slightly longer (3 to 6 weeks)

Hope this helps.

[noajthan]

As this post appears to be about citizenship, moved to BC forum.

[secret.simon]

I am pretty much ok with British Naturalization application, but since i am indian i have to follow up it with Surrendering indian passport and then OCI application.
What's best source/link to get information about 1) surrendering indian passport and 2) apply OCI?

May be i didn't write correctly, but about travelling, my concern was not for next 12 months after ILR, but while my application for Naturalization -> to -> OCI is in process.

I believe that the OP's questions are oriented towards the processes that former Indian citizens have to follow to acquire OCI, rather than British naturalisation and hence this thread should be moved to the "Other Countries" forum.

[abhisheks9]

I believe that the OP's questions are oriented towards the processes that former Indian citizens have to follow to acquire OCI, rather than British naturalisation and hence this thread should be moved to the "Other Countries" forum.

I originally posted this in "Other Countries" forum, but this was later moved to "British Citizenship" by a moderator

[Casa]

Moved back.

[abhisheks9]

thanks moderators for answering my original query.
I have follow-up questions, based on my gathering of knowledge from this forum.

Q: after getting UK passport, there is 3 months grace period to use Indian passport to travel to India
So can i go to india and surrender Indian passport in India? I now know i can apply OCI in India.
I guess answer is NO, still confirming here