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No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:54 am
by chandugani
Is any one on the same boat as mine. Can someone guide me.
I used Hounslow NCS to submit my son's British registration. He is born outside UK and is on ILR. I am british by naturalisation and wife on ILR.
Its been more than a month now and I have not received any acknowledgement and the payment is not taken yet from my bank.
I rang hounslow NCS, they said all applications are submitted to HO next working day. They reluctant to investigate my specific application.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:11 am
by CR001
On what date exactly did you submit the application?
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:25 pm
by eclectic
I am faced with a similar situation- submitted the application through NCS southwark on 16th Mar and no payment has been taken as yet...
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:30 pm
by noajthan
You can monitor other members' timelines in one or more of the timeline threads

Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 8:34 am
by ToneGen
Its taking time these days. Dont panic. Mine they took nearly 5 weeks before money was taken out. Look at my timeline.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 8:42 am
by ohara
The payments are taken in batches and it can take up to six weeks.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 1:42 pm
by eclectic
What I am struggling to understand is that why some payment are being taken quite earlier while others are going way beyond average time..I can understand the outcome of applications depend on the type and varies case by case but I thought atleast the payment procedure will be consistent...a friend of my recently applied through the same council and had his payment taken in 2 weeks! Isn't that done on first come first serve basis as for as the initial process of biometric and confirmation is concerned?
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:13 pm
by kankerot
There has been a rush to submit applications prior to the 18th March price increases and then we have had easter holidays. Also if your application is for BC through being married to a BC then it will take longer than Tier 1 applications.
I was told my wife application was straightforward and its been over a month.
I suspect they vet spousal BC applications more thoroughly due to sham weddings.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 4:35 pm
by LilyLalilu
Just don't overthink it and mentally prepare yourself for a wait of (at least) 6 months. If your approval comes through quicker, even better

Apart from the fact that some applications are more complex than others, it's probably mostly down to luck, i.e. which caseworker gets allocated your application and how efficient/inefficient they are, their overall workload and whether they go off sick or on holiday.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 4:46 pm
by 1kiril
Busy times at the olde Home Office offices due to too many Europeans rushed to apply for citizenships to avoid getting caught out by the upcoming EU referendum.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 5:14 pm
by eclectic
Well my application is after Tier 1 General+ILR and not marriage- and I am happy to wait and understand that it may be busier but what I dont understand is that why some cases are being initiated sooner than others- I can understand that after the submission of your biometric it varies case by case but I dont think it should matter for the initial fee part plus biometric?
And if they are so overly busy to even take payments then they should be busier for all right? couple of my friends applied at the same time as me and have had their payments taken long ago! i.e. within 2 weeks! just doesnt make sense to me...but ofcourse nothing I can do except wait..
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 5:21 pm
by kankerot
eclectic wrote:Well my application is after Tier 1 General+ILR and not marriage- and I am happy to wait and understand that it may be busier but what I dont understand is that why some cases are being initiated sooner than others- I can understand that after the submission of your biometric it varies case by case but I dont think it should matter for the initial fee part plus biometric?
And if they are so overly busy to even take payments then they should be busier for all right? couple of my friends applied at the same time as me and have had their payments taken long ago! i.e. within 2 weeks! just doesnt make sense to me...but ofcourse nothing I can do except wait..
I think you got unlucky. I think applications are sent to numerous offices to spread the workload so you may have been added to a long list. Also even a days difference in applying could lead to weeks and months difference in response. There is no single track, each application is assessed on its merit and even though yours may be a simple straight forward one, you may just get that caseworker who got out of the bed on the wrong side or someone made a little error. Unfortunately many are in the same boat as you.
I don't know how many people apply for BC on a yearly basis so not sure as to what to compare the workload to.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 2:38 pm
by kishorekv
I applied on 16th March at NCS, NCS confirmed it is sent to HO on 17th. So far no acknowledgement or no fees deducted. Surprised to see on timelines that few people fee is taken who applied after me. Cannot understand how it works
However prepeared to wait as there is no other option.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 2:42 pm
by ohara
It can take up to 6 weeks for payment to be taken, you have only hit the 4 week mark. If you look at the March timeline or some other threads in this forum you will see you are not the only one in this situation. I expect HO received hundreds of applications in the few days running up to the 18th as people were trying to beat the fee increase.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 10:15 pm
by kishorekv
Thanks Ohara, you are right. The fees has been deducted yesterday, and surprisingly passoport fees is deducted today (as I have applied by JCAP).
Thanks all for your guidance. Waiting for Biometrics letter as of now.
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 6:34 pm
by Elewis
Hello, I have sent a renunciation of UK citizenship application by DHL express which arrived 23 May. I have had no fees taken and have received no acknowledgment. Tomorrow is 3 weeks. Other people have had the fees taken in 10 days! Has anyone else had this when renouncing their citizenship?
Re: No acknowledgement and payment not taken yet.
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 7:01 pm
by Casa
Elewis wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 6:34 pm
Hello, I have sent a renunciation of UK citizenship application by DHL express which arrived 23 May. I have had no fees taken and have received no acknowledgment. Tomorrow is 3 weeks. Other people have had the fees taken in 10 days! Has anyone else had this when renouncing their citizenship?
This topic is about applying for British citizenship. You are renouncing yours

Instead of tagging your question onto the end of a thread with no relevance to your situation, please continue in your own topic.
british-citizenship/renouncing-uk-citiz ... l#p1645595