Four and a Half Months and still waiting

[kmm26]

Hello all

I am a regular reader on the forum, but rarely post.

I wanted to hear you opinions on how long BC applications take!!!

In my view, I have a relatively straightforward application -
1. 2016 - Moved to UK as a student.
2. Sept 2012 - Application for Tier 2 rejected with Employer A due to min salary requierments not being met
3. October 2012 - Application for Tier 2 granted with Employer B.
4. Multiple annual extensions for Tier 2 permit with Employer B while staying in the same job role.
5. Jan 2017 - New Tier 2 permit grated for Employer C
6. October 2017 - ILR Granted
7. Dec 2018 - Applied to the HO for authorization to marry BC in the UK.
8. May 2018 - Married BC
9. May/June 2018 - Applied for Naturalisation as had ILR and married to BC.

Its now exceeding 4 months since all my document should have landed at the Home office. Spending £1000's over the years, you would expect them to at the very least acknowledge recieveing these applications, But NO!!!!

After 2 months, I contacted the HO to chance my arm... requesting an update. As expected, I did not get one. But my passport and BRP were returned, while they continued to hold my wife's passport and the rest of my documents.

3 Months passed, I requested the rest of the documents back and no reply... I have now sent mupltiple requests and the HO and have not recieved their generic response stating we shall answer your query within 20 days...

My anxiety is through the roof, there is no question about that! But I am throughly dissapointed in the Home Office, their pace and their lack of accountabitlity. What particularly pi$$ me off is that when you call their premium rate number and are on hold for 40-45 mins, you, the applicant are refferend to as an customer. Yet as a customer, you are not offered any rights to chase up on your investment/cost.

We all apply for various reasons, mine being, I am an expecting father!!! My wife is BC, so will our child. I would love to travel across freely/with them, rather than having to apply for visas to visit Ireland. Being based in Northern Ireland, we also have the option to apply for Irish Citizenship. Which I will apply in due time.

But the questions remains, how long does the HO take on average??? Is the home office a reflection of the failing government and its miserably low standars? Sanjiv Javed is least interested in improving the Home Office's performace and activites, is there anyone else who can be spoken to ? Can we as "Customers" ask the consumer agencies to step in?

In general, why are the Home Office so bad!?!?!?!?

I am begining to question my decision to apply for British Citizenship... Are there others like me out there?

[kmm26]

I should state over the years, I have not had any run ins with the law. Never overstayed, Never been self employed, hence my taxes are straigh as an arrow. I have travelled a fair bit, but not exceeded any limits for applications made to the HO.

I was granted ILR using the premium 1 day service, with my BRP being recieved 2 days after being approved on the day of my BPO appointment.

[Chisomekwu]

Hello all

I am a regular reader on the forum, but rarely post.

I wanted to hear you opinions on how long BC applications take!!!

In my view, I have a relatively straightforward application -
1. 2016 - Moved to UK as a student.
2. Sept 2012 - Application for Tier 2 rejected with Employer A due to min salary requierments not being met
3. October 2012 - Application for Tier 2 granted with Employer B.
4. Multiple annual extensions for Tier 2 permit with Employer B while staying in the same job role.
5. Jan 2017 - New Tier 2 permit grated for Employer C
6. October 2017 - ILR Granted
7. Dec 2018 - Applied to the HO for authorization to marry BC in the UK.
8. May 2018 - Married BC
9. May/June 2018 - Applied for Naturalisation as had ILR and married to BC.

Its now exceeding 4 months since all my document should have landed at the Home office. Spending £1000's over the years, you would expect them to at the very least acknowledge recieveing these applications, But NO!!!!

After 2 months, I contacted the HO to chance my arm... requesting an update. As expected, I did not get one. But my passport and BRP were returned, while they continued to hold my wife's passport and the rest of my documents.

3 Months passed, I requested the rest of the documents back and no reply... I have now sent mupltiple requests and the HO and have not recieved their generic response stating we shall answer your query within 20 days...

My anxiety is through the roof, there is no question about that! But I am throughly dissapointed in the Home Office, their pace and their lack of accountabitlity. What particularly pi$$ me off is that when you call their premium rate number and are on hold for 40-45 mins, you, the applicant are refferend to as an customer. Yet as a customer, you are not offered any rights to chase up on your investment/cost.

We all apply for various reasons, mine being, I am an expecting father!!! My wife is BC, so will our child. I would love to travel across freely/with them, rather than having to apply for visas to visit Ireland. Being based in Northern Ireland, we also have the option to apply for Irish Citizenship. Which I will apply in due time.

But the questions remains, how long does the HO take on average??? Is the home office a reflection of the failing government and its miserably low standars? Sanjiv Javed is least interested in improving the Home Office's performace and activites, is there anyone else who can be spoken to ? Can we as "Customers" ask the consumer agencies to step in?

In general, why are the Home Office so bad!?!?!?!?

I am begining to question my decision to apply for British Citizenship... Are there others like me out there?

6 months thats what i have been told

[kmm26]

Hello all

I am a regular reader on the forum, but rarely post.

I wanted to hear you opinions on how long BC applications take!!!

In my view, I have a relatively straightforward application -
1. 2016 - Moved to UK as a student.
2. Sept 2012 - Application for Tier 2 rejected with Employer A due to min salary requierments not being met
3. October 2012 - Application for Tier 2 granted with Employer B.
4. Multiple annual extensions for Tier 2 permit with Employer B while staying in the same job role.
5. Jan 2017 - New Tier 2 permit grated for Employer C
6. October 2017 - ILR Granted
7. Dec 2018 - Applied to the HO for authorization to marry BC in the UK.
8. May 2018 - Married BC
9. May/June 2018 - Applied for Naturalisation as had ILR and married to BC.

Its now exceeding 4 months since all my document should have landed at the Home office. Spending £1000's over the years, you would expect them to at the very least acknowledge recieveing these applications, But NO!!!!

After 2 months, I contacted the HO to chance my arm... requesting an update. As expected, I did not get one. But my passport and BRP were returned, while they continued to hold my wife's passport and the rest of my documents.

3 Months passed, I requested the rest of the documents back and no reply... I have now sent mupltiple requests and the HO and have not recieved their generic response stating we shall answer your query within 20 days...

My anxiety is through the roof, there is no question about that! But I am throughly dissapointed in the Home Office, their pace and their lack of accountabitlity. What particularly pi$$ me off is that when you call their premium rate number and are on hold for 40-45 mins, you, the applicant are refferend to as an customer. Yet as a customer, you are not offered any rights to chase up on your investment/cost.

We all apply for various reasons, mine being, I am an expecting father!!! My wife is BC, so will our child. I would love to travel across freely/with them, rather than having to apply for visas to visit Ireland. Being based in Northern Ireland, we also have the option to apply for Irish Citizenship. Which I will apply in due time.

But the questions remains, how long does the HO take on average??? Is the home office a reflection of the failing government and its miserably low standars? Sanjiv Javed is least interested in improving the Home Office's performace and activites, is there anyone else who can be spoken to ? Can we as "Customers" ask the consumer agencies to step in?

In general, why are the Home Office so bad!?!?!?!?

I am begining to question my decision to apply for British Citizenship... Are there others like me out there?

6 months thats what i have been told

Hey Chris, we know its 6 months, but even after 6 months, people only get told it is under process. Nothing more, nothing less.

As a paying customer, its really bad service.

[Ffmuni]

Hi, it seems the Home Office, particularly where Citizenship applications are concerned are relatively, if not completely, unaccountable.

The service provided for the fees received is often abysmal but who really cares? If you are applying for citizenship it is highly likely that Ministers and MP’s are not really bothered...because unless you are a commonwealth citizen you do not have a vote in a Gen Election.

Who complains during an application about poor service? Very few, because probably like me they will be frightened a complaint would result in a negative impact on their application. If one is successful in obtaining citizenship, no matter what service was provided who then goes back and complains? Most are just happy the ordeal is over and want to move on. Failed applicants for citizenship have no right of appeal and little/ no political clout.

The Home Office, as you say, often refer to applicants as customers, that is a joke. A customer can choose to go elsewhere, we are supplicants in a Byzantine process which results in frequent wrong and illfounded decisions by the Home Office. Just look at how many appeals are lost by the Home Office.

The citizenship process takes as long as they want, I doubt you will get any response,until at least 6 months has passed, on what is happening. The UKVI call centre is not staffed by Home Office personnel but is outsourced to contractors. Effectively they are a message taking service which gives no advice or real information.

I fully understand and sympathise with your feelings but ultimately the Home Office have the whip hand and we immigrants are not the real flavour of the month with a large part of the general public. Hence Brexit and the Tory party vow to bring migration down to the tens of thousands.

Just my thoughts and rant now over!

[kmm26]

Hi, it seems the Home Office, particularly where Citizenship applications are concerned are relatively, if not completely, unaccountable.

The service provided for the fees received is often abysmal but who really cares? If you are applying for citizenship it is highly likely that Ministers and MP’s are not really bothered...because unless you are a commonwealth citizen you do not have a vote in a Gen Election.

Who complains during an application about poor service? Very few, because probably like me they will be frightened a complaint would result in a negative impact on their application. If one is successful in obtaining citizenship, no matter what service was provided who then goes back and complains? Most are just happy the ordeal is over and want to move on. Failed applicants for citizenship have no right of appeal and little/ no political clout.

The Home Office, as you say, often refer to applicants as customers, that is a joke. A customer can choose to go elsewhere, we are supplicants in a Byzantine process which results in frequent wrong and illfounded decisions by the Home Office. Just look at how many appeals are lost by the Home Office.

The citizenship process takes as long as they want, I doubt you will get any response,until at least 6 months has passed, on what is happening. The UKVI call centre is not staffed by Home Office personnel but is outsourced to contractors. Effectively they are a message taking service which gives no advice or real information.

I fully understand and sympathise with your feelings but ultimately the Home Office have the whip hand and we immigrants are not the real flavour of the month with a large part of the general public. Hence Brexit and the Tory party vow to bring migration down to the tens of thousands.

Just my thoughts and rant now over!

Hey Ffmuni

Good Rant!!!! To the point as well.

As a tax paying resident, you do feel like the Government will absolutely chance their arm at every Penny they can!!!!

The general residents do not realize they amount of money a migrant has to wilfully part with, to actually live in the UK. To joe bloggs, the argument always seems to be migrants are costing the NHS and social services more money.

But, especiually for non-EU migrants, people do not realize, you need to hold a full time job, with a more than decent salary to afford the Application + NHS fees the home office charge. This is further complicated if you have a family and are not alone.

If the process gets any more expensive and generally worse, I would say Brexit + Decresing immigration could spell doom, specially in healthcare.

I have spoken to my local MP, who is not commenting on the matter. He is a DUP man, supporting the Tories in power. He is over in Westminster and has shown little interest in answering his constituents. Guess what!!!! I wont be voting DUP in the next GE. After their scandals over the last couple of years, I chose not to vote, but I much rather see a Sinn Fein candidate represent our area as they seem to be a generally more constructive party over the DUP.

I am second guessing my decision to apply for UK Citizenship.... I was quiet happy with PR, the primary reason to apply for Citizenship was to be able to fly over and meet with our partners in EU, to discuss post brexit business. Thanks to the Home Office and its in-efficiency, I do not see the possibility of going over to see our partners, I shall have to stay limited to the Telephone as we consider moving office space over to Dublin.

[gualtiero91]

4 months today and not a word from the HO, not even to acknowledge receipt of my application and I wonder every morning, should i contact them? or suffer another two months of misery? I wish you a happy outcome very very soon.

[kmm26]

4 months today and not a word from the HO, not even to acknowledge receipt of my application and I wonder every morning, should i contact them? or suffer another two months of misery? I wish you a happy outcome very very soon.

Hello gualtiero91

To be honest, in my case I am not expecting to hear back untill I follow up after the 6 months line is crossed.

Even at that, I am expecting to be given a standarized generic reply!

I am not sure what to do.... at the point, I may consider withdrawing my application as I need our documents to apply for a tourist visa to visit France.

As Migrants, we are viewed like the plague infesting the country, but they sure like the taxes and fees we put into the system. Yet we have no rights and there is no accountability by these departments for their in-efficiencies.

[kmm26]

After numerous queries, the HO have repied back with a very vague letter stating they are still completeing "Good Character Checks" and this is a very broad spectrum check and can take a while.

HO BS.... for keep waiting, we will work according to our timelines.

They are not entertaining my request to return my wife's UK Passport/documents along with my driving licences and profession degree qualifications.

[kmm26]

So past 5 months and still no word from the HO.

Spoke to my local MP as well, his office has asked the HO about my case about a month ago.

The MPs office said, because I am asking too many question, my case is open extra scrutiny and may end up taking a longer.

Ridiculous! Cant ask the HO for an Update, Cant ask their Helplines, Cant ask MP! what is next?????

PS - At this point, I am almost certain, for some stupid reason or another my application is heading for a negative response.

[paradoxical]

There is an email address you can use to ask for update, it is in one of the other threads in this forum. I hope you hear soon. Out of curiosity, did you not have the option go use your local council nationality checking service where they photocopy your documents and you get to keep all the originals.. ?

[kmm26]

There is an email address you can use to ask for update, it is in one of the other threads in this forum. I hope you hear soon. Out of curiosity, did you not have the option go use your local council nationality checking service where they photocopy your documents and you get to keep all the originals.. ?

Hey

I have emailed them a few times and finally got a response about 15 days ago to say they are continuing good character checks and this can be a very wide area, hence takes time.

I am sure it does not take 5 months!!!!

Northern Ireland does not have a single local council offering NCAP or Document Checking services, so I had to post my documents after applying online.