New citizenship form UKF

[mercuree]

3 Dec 2018 - Ceremony Invitation Letter received via email. I am unable to make it on the date tehy provided, replied via email and they replied within the hour saying that they would keep me informed of a new date.

HO conveniently mailed me only one day after I returned from holiday, providing a ceremony date two days from now. So finally getting that done!

Ceremony was done yesterday. I am now officially a certified British subject. Happy days! Now just to get the passport.

Congratulations. Good luck with the passport.

My son is still waiting for a ceremony date, since 5th November.

Thank you! The waiting is the worst, isn't it?

You've still got about two weeks to go before the 12 week cutoff. After that, if you still haven't gotten one, you can mail them on citizenship.support@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.

The person handling my case did say that they have been severely backlogged and that they are implementing procedures to get things moving faster.

[sunburn]

Both UKM and UKF registration applications have probably spiked due to the Romein case (UKM) and Johnson case (UKF) that opened up eligibility to previously ineligible people in mid/late 2018. A FOIA request from 2015 indicated they get <1500 UKM cases a year. On such a tiny base that probably gets handled by a small staff, even a few hundred more cases is a substantial percentage increase in work load.

[ElMac94]

Just got a phone call inviting me to a ceremony in DC tomorrow! It's apparently a very informal, 10 ceremony (which is absolutely fine with me as I've got to get the kids to school afterwards), so then timeline-wise, my date of successful application was 6 November 2018 and then ceremony invitation (22 January 2019), with a 23 January 2019 ceremony.

Keep the faith all, my experience seems to be the same as everyone else with a long wait for an invite and then the ceremony immediately following!

[blackchukky]

Hi everyone,

I recently got a mail from the Home office in respect of my UKF application to proceed for my Biometrics. I was specifically told to mail the Home Office’s partner in the Netherlands to book an appointment to do this. The email address is ocbeappointments@tlscontact.com. I mailed them and got this automated response highlighted in blue color. But I'm still yet to get a definitive response from them. Did anyone else also experienced this sort of delay with Biometrics ?

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your appointment request.

Please be informed that we are currently experiencing a peak in the Overseas Citizenship Biometrics Enrolment appointment demand.

Response time is expected to be slightly longer from ocbeappointments@tlscontact.com.

If your deadline for biometric enrolment is approaching, please go to our nearest UK Visa Application Centre with the letter you received from the Home Office.

Please make sure to attend the Visa Application Centre only between 10:00 and 12:00 during opening days.

For further information about the Opening Hours and detailed Address of your chosen location, please visit the Address section on https://uk.tlscontact.com/

Best Regards,
TLScontact OCBE Team

[IntrepidShepherd]

I got the same email in South Africa from TLS when I sent an email to book.
I just went and did biometrics without the appointment like they instructed. Was late Dec 2018

[blackchukky]

I got the same email in South Africa from TLS when I sent an email to book.
I just went and did biometrics without the appointment like they instructed. Was late Dec 2018

Before going for your appointment, did you create an account on TLS website and pay their service charge, just curious ?

[IntrepidShepherd]

I got the same email in South Africa from TLS when I sent an email to book.
I just went and did biometrics without the appointment like they instructed. Was late Dec 2018

Before going for your appointment, did you create an account on TLS website and pay their service charge, just curious ?

No the TLS biometrics fee for UKF and UKM is included in the GBP80 you paid. I can confirm I neither made an account on TLS nor paid anything.

Did you not get a document to print and take with you to TLS?

[blackchukky]

I got the same email in South Africa from TLS when I sent an email to book.
I just went and did biometrics without the appointment like they instructed. Was late Dec 2018

Before going for your appointment, did you create an account on TLS website and pay their service charge, just curious ?

No the TLS biometrics fee for UKF and UKM is included in the GBP80 you paid. I can confirm I neither made an account on TLS nor paid anything.

Did you not get a document to print and take with you to TLS?

Yes I got a document to print and take to TLS. I will do the same by going there with my printed document. Thanks for the hint.

[Lickylicki]

Just sent in my application yesterday to the ukvi office...please how long till I get a receipt or acknowledgment that it has been received or something...

[basicdiagrams]

Updated timeline:

10/09/2018 applied online and paid the fee
10/09/2018 received payment confirmation email
11/09/2018 received an email stating my Case ID and notifying me my application is being considered
11/09/2018 sent documentation via DHL
12/09/2018 documentation signed for in Liverpool (info via DHL tracking service, no official acknowledgment from UKVI)
23/09/2018 Passport and UKVI cover letter sent from Liverpool
02/10/2018 Passport and UKVI cover letter received
15/11/2018 biometric enrolment letter received (by email)
19/11/2018 ammended biometric enrolment letter received by email (after contacting the Home Office at NationalityBiometricsOverseas@homeoffice.gov.uk and explaining they had sent wrong instructions)
22/11/2018 biometric appointment request sent to TLS (no response)
27/11/2018 biometric appointment request sent to TLS (no response)
03/12/2018 biometric appointment request sent to TLS (no response)
04/12/2018 contacted the Home Office again (NationalityBiometricsOverseas@homeoffice.gov.uk) where I asked for assistance with making the biometric enrolment appointment; they said they sent an email to the TLS technical team marked down as URGENTLY REQUIRED
07/12/2018 contacted the Home Office again (NationalityBiometricsOverseas@homeoffice.gov.uk) asking for an update on my case
10/12/2018 the HO responded by telling me they escalated my issues to the new Team Leader at the TLS Technical Team and that this would be rectified by the end of the week, also telling me not to worry about the timescale of the letters (30-day period to enrol biometrics)
10/12/2018 TLS responds by email, letting me know they scheduled the appointment for 12/12/2018
12/12/2018 Biometric data enroled at the local TLS VAC
30/01/2019 ACCEPTANCE LETTER RECEIVED by post

Thanks to everyone for their help and support. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them here. I'll update the forum with ceremony related timeline.

[sgrov19]

Can I ask which of your fathers original documents did you send to support your application? Some say ‘send birth cert, passport, naturalisation, etc and some say send only one of them.

[basicdiagrams]

Can I ask which of your fathers original documents did you send to support your application? Some say ‘send birth cert, passport, naturalisation, etc and some say send only one of them.

His birth certificate and passport photocopy. But my advice is to send as many relevant documents as you have access to.


Also: the acceptance letter was dated 22/01/2019

[mercuree]

Can I ask which of your fathers original documents did you send to support your application? Some say ‘send birth cert, passport, naturalisation, etc and some say send only one of them.

I only sent my dad's BC. All went fine.

[jaffictram]

HO conveniently mailed me only one day after I returned from holiday, providing a ceremony date two days from now. So finally getting that done!

Ceremony was done yesterday. I am now officially a certified British subject. Happy days! Now just to get the passport.

Congratulations. Good luck with the passport.

My son is still waiting for a ceremony date, since 5th November.

Thank you! The waiting is the worst, isn't it?

You've still got about two weeks to go before the 12 week cutoff. After that, if you still haven't gotten one, you can mail them on citizenship.support@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.

The person handling my case did say that they have been severely backlogged and that they are implementing procedures to get things moving faster.

"The waiting drove me mad"
Still waiting, I got my dates wrong, we got the letter 5th December, dated 30 November. Meh.
Will wait another week and send an email.
Hope your passport application has gone smoothly?

[hamlet]

Hello,
I would like to pass on some information and also ask a couple of questions.
My daughter has applied for British Citizenship. She has a (biometric) Finnish Passport and
currently works in Germany. Born in the UK and lived here from birth for 26 years.
This is the timetable so far,
1.11.18 Applied on line and paid the fee.
1.11.18 Received payment confirmation by e-mail.
4.11.18 Received Case ID confirmation by e-mail.
5.11.18 Sent documentation by the Post Office recorded delivery system.
6.11.18 The Post Office confirmed delivery was received at 09.32.
31.1.19 Biometric enrolment letter received by e-mail.
3.2.19 Biometric appointment request sent by e-mail to TLS
4.2.19 Biometric appointment letter received by e-mail. Bog standard letter that appears to
be sent to everybody! My definition of their statement "enrolment is approaching" means now.
7.2.19 Attended the TLS appointed centre in Munich prepared to pay the £22.00 but they do not
have the facilities to take payment. My daughter had to return to her apartment and make
payment on line and return to the TLS appointed centre with proof of payment. It is not possible in Germany just to pop into any bank or even a branch and make a payment. (I thought our banks were bad) Finally with a very upset daughter the biometric details were taken.
????? Documents returned.
????? Acceptance letter received.
????? Ceremony arranged.
I hope this information is useful to anybody who may be wondering if the Home Office has gone to sleep!!
Now the questions,
The Home Office still have my daughters passport which has prevented her from leaving the
EU for over three months. Can anybody suggest when the passport will be returned and or why
it has been retained for this period. The Home Office have a prepaid registered envelope in their possession addressed to me in the UK to enable the safe return.
We foresaw this situation and arranged for my daughter to obtain a Finnish Identity Card to allow her to travel within the EU.
How long does the ceremony take.
Any information would be very much appreciated
Thank you.

[PleasantThebest]

I hope this information is useful to anybody who may be wondering if the Home Office has gone to sleep!!
Now the questions,
The Home Office still have my daughters passport which has prevented her from leaving the
EU for over three months. Can anybody suggest when the passport will be returned and or why
it has been retained for this period. The Home Office have a prepaid registered envelope in their possession addressed to me in the UK to enable the safe return.
We foresaw this situation and arranged for my daughter to obtain a Finnish Identity Card to allow her to travel within the EU.
How long does the ceremony take.
Any information would be very much appreciated
Thank you.

Supporting documents, including submitted passports, are returned with the acceptance letter. Usually Royal Mail International Signed. Granted, I only received my supporting documents back about a month after the ceremony because of the terrible postal system in South Africa, but that's not the Home Office's fault. My acceptance letter itself said something along the lines of "thank you for submitting your documents in support of your British citizenship application. All the information has been noted and we will not need to see them again". It then listed the enclosed documents I originally submitted.

The ceremony itself goes very quickly. I think I was at the consulate in Cape Town for about an hour.

[hamlet]

Pleasant the best.
Many thanks for your quick response.

Kindest regards

[Lickylicki]

Got the acknowledgement on the 6th of this month...please any idea when money will be deducted from account

[basicdiagrams]

The Home Office still have my daughters passport which has prevented her from leaving the
EU for over three months. Can anybody suggest when the passport will be returned and or why
it has been retained for this period. The Home Office have a prepaid registered envelope in their possession addressed to me in the UK to enable the safe return.
We foresaw this situation and arranged for my daughter to obtain a Finnish Identity Card to allow her to travel within the EU.

It has been retained because you didn't ask for it to be returned. In my cover letter that I enclosed with my application documents I stated that I would appreciate if they could send me the passport ASAP and they sent it back within 2 weeks.

You could write them and ask them to send the passport back.

How long does the ceremony take.

The ceremony shouldn't take more than an hour, if I'm not mistaken, and it should take place within 12 weeks from the acceptance letter. I'm still waiting for my local British embassy to contact me and it has been more than 3 weeks now.

[hamlet]

Hello basicdiagrams,
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post.
Mistake in not requesting return of passport but never read anywhere that there
could/would have been a lengthy delay. Had not looked for forum prior to applying.
Never would had expected such a delay in what I presumed was quite a simple
task since all documents and information contained no blemishes.
Well, I still think trains and buses still run on time he he.
Again many thanks

[PleasantThebest]

Just wanted to post my final timeline after having received my passport today Ignore the delay between the ceremony and the passport application. I only had a chance to apply for the passport in the new year and had no immediate plans to travel. Just wanted to say thanks to this forum. A lot of good people on here, providing valuable help and information Good luck to all those still waiting to hear from the HO.

Online application from Port Elizabeth, South Africa
5 August 2018 : Date applied
6 August 2018 : Automated acknowledgement received with case number
3 October 2018 : Biometrics invite received via email
10 October 2018 : Biometrics submitted at TLSContact office in Port Elizabeth
13 November 2018 : Approval email received from case worker - original approval date 24 October 2018

3 December 2018 : Ceremony invite received from consulate in Cape Town
14 December 2018: : Ceremony completed

14 January 2019 : Applied for passport online
21 January 2019 : Sent supporting documents to Durham HMPO via DHL
24 January 2019 : Docs received by HMPO
6 February 2019 : Email from HMPO requesting signed declaration for passport to be delivered to my work address (reply sent back same day)

7 February 2019 : Marked "Dispatched" on tracking service
13 February 2019 : Passport received via DHL

[basicdiagrams]

Updated timeline:

10/09/2018 applied online and paid the fee
10/09/2018 received payment confirmation email
11/09/2018 received an email stating my Case ID and notifying me my application is being considered
11/09/2018 sent documentation via DHL
12/09/2018 documentation signed for in Liverpool (info via DHL tracking service, no official acknowledgment from UKVI)
23/09/2018 Passport and UKVI cover letter sent from Liverpool
02/10/2018 Passport and UKVI cover letter received
15/11/2018 biometric enrolment letter received (by email)
19/11/2018 ammended biometric enrolment letter received by email (after contacting the Home Office at NationalityBiometricsOverseas@homeoffice.gov.uk and explaining they had sent wrong instructions)
22/11/2018 biometric appointment request sent to TLS (no response)
27/11/2018 biometric appointment request sent to TLS (no response)
03/12/2018 biometric appointment request sent to TLS (no response)
04/12/2018 contacted the Home Office again (NationalityBiometricsOverseas@homeoffice.gov.uk) where I asked for assistance with making the biometric enrolment appointment; they said they sent an email to the TLS technical team marked down as URGENTLY REQUIRED
07/12/2018 contacted the Home Office again (NationalityBiometricsOverseas@homeoffice.gov.uk) asking for an update on my case
10/12/2018 the HO responded by telling me they escalated my issues to the new Team Leader at the TLS Technical Team and that this would be rectified by the end of the week, also telling me not to worry about the timescale of the letters (30-day period to enrol biometrics)
10/12/2018 TLS responds by email, letting me know they scheduled the appointment for 12/12/2018
12/12/2018 Biometric data enroled at the local TLS VAC
30/01/2019 ACCEPTANCE LETTER RECEIVED by post (dated 22/01/2019)

14/02/2019 received a telephone call from local British Embassy asking about the date of the ceremony that would suit me (and the Consul General) best; ceremony scheduled for 20/03/2019

[blackchukky]

Updated Timeline

14-Jan-2019 UKF application was sent through my lawyer to the Home-office

21-jan-2019 I was mandated by the Home-office to do my biometrics

29-Jan-2019 Biometrics was successfuly done at UK visa center in Amsterdam

11-Feb-2019 Got a letter from the Home office that my application is successful

[Lickylicki]

Please can you message me or send me your email...I need your help urgently with Some clarifications

To God be the Glory. Passport out at last after about 20weeks. A very big thank you to everyone that has helped out and best of God to all who are still awaiting a response from the home office .it will be positive by God grace. And to those still awaiting passport issuance too, *patience* is the word though not easy but thats all u can do.be patient and dot pressurize them .

Thanks

[CR001]

Please can you message me or send me your email...I need your help urgently with Some clarifications

To God be the Glory. Passport out at last after about 20weeks. A very big thank you to everyone that has helped out and best of God to all who are still awaiting a response from the home office .it will be positive by God grace. And to those still awaiting passport issuance too, *patience* is the word though not easy but thats all u can do.be patient and dot pressurize them .

Thanks

@ lickylicki - you do not have access to the PM privilege yet as a newly registered member. Members are also not permitted to post any form of contact details on the forum.

Post in public so that all may benefit and offer you assistance and advice.