Immigrationboards.com

Hi everyone,

First of all, Thank you so much in advance for taking an effort in reading this.

I am planning to apply for Citizenship for myself, mum and brother. We have ILR for about 7 years.

We know we are entitled to apply for, but unsure how and what are the procedure?
Is it alright to apply straight through or do we have to go through lawyer? (Can't afford lawyers fees for three of us)

Where can I find the application forms?

Can I do B2 SELT exam instead of Life in the UK test?


Wishes

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If you are unsure and not confident, I'd advise to save up for a solicitor but I recognise it's a lot for 3 people.

My advice is that if you do end up using NCS, don't be timid, still do your research and if you feel they are trying to talk you out of submitting certain documents, make sure you insist!
There are quite a few complaints when you read the failed applications thread and others, perhaps NCS try to save themselves the work (they have to photocopy everything) when they tell you that you don't need to hand in certain documents.
They don't know better and they make mistakes! As far as I can see, as with everything, you get what you pay for.

Become British
Nationality Guidance

Interestingly, we see far more complaints on the forum regarding poor advice from Solicitors/Legal Advisors than we see for the NCS,

My personal view is that using a solicitor for this process is an absolute waste of money. Unless your case is so incredibly complicated that it somehow requires the attention of an immigration lawyer I would save your money and use it elsewhere. The naturalisation process is costly as it is, and I personally find it quite distasteful that so called immigration lawyers take advantage and charge money for something like this. However, I can appreciate that it may be daunting to a lot of people who are not used to this type of paperwork. But just be patient and pay attention to detail.

Basically:

1. Do your research. Read the guides thoroughly and then read them again to be sure. You'll find them all on the gov.uk website. They will tell you what you need to do, how and what documentation is required. Any specific questions you can also call the UKVI helpline and ask.
2. Check which documents you need and prepare everything. Get the certificates, statements, payslips, language tests, life in the UK tests etc done
3. Use the council NCS service if you want to keep all your original documents and have someone sense check your application(s).

It is a time consuming process from start to finish but it's not rocket science and there's no need to over-complicate it. All it takes a bit of organisation and due diligence.

Thank you so much, will definitely take time and research.