General Discussion During Naturalisation Application Process

[Ty3]

Thank you

[justice12]

Hi Everyone,
i have applied for naturalisation (AN) on 28 June 2019, and my application was refused on 2nd August 2019 as i predicted it will be refused. The refusal reason was Illegal entrant to UK in 2004 and without LTR for 9 years. First time applied LTR in 2012 and LTR granted in 2013, ILR granted in 06-2019.

I have been given date to re-apply naturalisation in 05-2022 once i have completed 10 years legal stay in UK.
Is there any chance of approval if i apply for Reconsideration (NR) or it would be another waste of money ? Any thoughts on this point will be appreciated. Many thanks

Hi, bluebird12, I remember we were granted (LTR) in June 2013 on family life ! how come you can apply for naturalisation in may 2012, is it the day you have applied on the FLR O ?

[Tech12345]

Hi Tech12345, I did the same thing a few days ago and got the same response (my application was submitted end of Aug). From reading other threads, it seems that this is a standard response they send when it has not yet been allocated to a caseworker. I have sent a follow up email asking them to clarify if it has been allocated to a caseworker, awaiting response on that.

Hi BigMo, Many thanks for the feedback. Please let us know when you get a response. I am hoping it has been allocated to a caseworker. Thanks

Hey, I have had a response from the team this morning. It confirms that the 'application is currently not with a caseworker as yet.' Hopefully it gets allocated soon!

Hi Everyone I today received my approval letter dated the 7th November. I am guessing the follow up email to FMT might have helped as I sent it on the 26th of October and got a reply on the 28th October saying my application was not yet either a caseworker and it might take a while since I applied on the 22nd September but surprisingly it was approved on the 7th November and received it through the post today. I wish everyone the very best and would suggest you keep emailing them from time to time to follow up and who knows they might pass it to a caseworker quicker. I told them I would appreciate if they can approve it as I need to travel overseas for work. Not sure if that helped but in all it took 6 weeks. Am sure everyone here will get positive response soon. I sent it to NationalitySupportTeamFMT@homeoffice.gov.uk
Best of Luck

[bluebird12]

Hi Everyone,
i have applied for naturalisation (AN) on 28 June 2019, and my application was refused on 2nd August 2019 as i predicted it will be refused. The refusal reason was Illegal entrant to UK in 2004 and without LTR for 9 years. First time applied LTR in 2012 and LTR granted in 2013, ILR granted in 06-2019.

I have been given date to re-apply naturalisation in 05-2022 once i have completed 10 years legal stay in UK.
Is there any chance of approval if i apply for Reconsideration (NR) or it would be another waste of money ? Any thoughts on this point will be appreciated. Many thanks

Hi, bluebird12, I remember we were granted (LTR) in June 2013 on family life ! how come you can apply for naturalisation in may 2012, is it the day you have applied on the FLR O ?

Yes I applied FLR O in May 2012 and got acknowledgment letter .

[justice12]

Hi Everyone,
i have applied for naturalisation (AN) on 28 June 2019, and my application was refused on 2nd August 2019 as i predicted it will be refused. The refusal reason was Illegal entrant to UK in 2004 and without LTR for 9 years. First time applied LTR in 2012 and LTR granted in 2013, ILR granted in 06-2019.

I have been given date to re-apply naturalisation in 05-2022 once i have completed 10 years legal stay in UK.
Is there any chance of approval if i apply for Reconsideration (NR) or it would be another waste of money ? Any thoughts on this point will be appreciated. Many thanks

Hi, bluebird12, I remember we were granted (LTR) in June 2013 on family life ! how come you can apply for naturalisation in may 2012, is it the day you have applied on the FLR O ?

Yes I applied FLR O in May 2012 and got acknowledgment letter .

NO, I want to say how come you can apply for naturalisation in may 2022 ? as i was granted ILR this week and my first application for FLR was in April 2012 but I was granted in June 2013 , so when will I be able to apply for naturalisation in June 2013 OR in April when I first made may application ?

[PPTP]

Hello guys.
General question. When you got a decision from home office can you still access your application and ukvacs account? Are there any changes?
Thank you.

[Arsenal86]

Hi guys, has anyone was illegal at any point in uk and after got married and after 5 years got approved the naturalisation?
Or does that mean whoever was ilegale during 10 years they will be refused and they have to wait untill they got 10 year legally stay?
Thanks

[topsecret]

Eligibility criteria: 5 years Refugee Settlement + 1ILR
Language/LIUK Criteria: Trinity + Naric Crtf + Life in UK
Nationality : Non-EU
Method of application: online
Date of application: 14/08/2019
Payment method: Debit card
Date of acknowledgement: 16/08/2019
Date of debit of fees: 14/08/2019
Date of bio metric Appointment letter received: 14/08/2019
Date Bio metrics enrolled:21/08/2019 (Sal ford Manchester)
Date on Approval letter: 15//11/2019
Date of receipt of approval:waiting
Date of receipt of ceremony letter:waiting
Date of Ceremony:waiting


I sent an email to Citizenship support on 14/11/2019 asking for an update and I received the below response today.

Dear XXX

thank you for email below.
I am pleased to advise that your application has been approved and you will receive a citizenship ceremony invitation through the post in due course.
.................................................................................................................................................................................................

Kind regards
Mrs X XXXXX

[Lisa F]

Eligibility criteria: 19 years resident + 19 years ILR (granted as a minor with British (by descent) mother)
Language Criteria: B1 & Life In UK Test
Nationality: South African
Method of application: Online & UKVCAS
Date of application: 6 Feb 2019
Payment method: Debit Card
Date of acknowledgement: 6 Feb 2019
Date of debit of fees: 6 Feb 2019
Date of Biometric letter issued: N/A
Date of biometric letter received: N/A
Date Biometrics & Documents Upload: 19 Feb 2019 @ UKVCAS Cambridge

Additional documents requested (due to passport expiring 2016): 17 April 2019
Additional documents posted overnight recorded: 23 April 2019

Refusal Letter received: 24 June 2019
Letter arrived acknowledging additional documents received (seriously!?): 23 July 2019
Letter of appeal, with supporting documents, posted recorded: 1 August 2019
Letter of acknowledgement of appeal (dated 23rd August) received: 29 August 2019

HO phone call to say refusal will be reconsidered: 25 September 2019

Date on Approval letter: 28 October 2019
Date of receipt of approval: 4 November 2019
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: 18th November
Date of Ceremony: 4th December
Date of Passport Application: Waiting
Date of debit of fees: Waiting
Date Passport to be received: Waiting

This has been a long process but the end is in sight! Finally an end to all the stress!

We learnt the hard way that the Home office CAN lose documents and CAN make mistakes on their side. If you have to send anything in after the initial application always use recorded signed for postage, keep the receipts and always put the case workers' name on the envelope! We failed on that last point and it almost lost us the citizenship.

[azdino7]

Date of application: 08/02/2019
Date Biometrics enrolled: 15/02/2019 UKVCAS new service appointment
Date on Approval letter: waiting

when the application was over 5 months i sent an email for an update only get the one most of us getting: (All applications are dealt with in application receipt date order. As you application was received on 8th February 19, It will take a while longer for your application to be considered. Once your application is decided, you will be contacted by your caseworker.)
and few days after got a letter explaining that the checking process is not yet completed.

now is more than 9 months and the same response the check is not yet completed.

[sam86ds]

Date of application: 08/02/2019
Date Biometrics enrolled: 15/02/2019 UKVCAS new service appointment
Date on Approval letter: waiting

when the application was over 5 months i sent an email for an update only get the one most of us getting: (All applications are dealt with in application receipt date order. As you application was received on 8th February 19, It will take a while longer for your application to be considered. Once your application is decided, you will be contacted by your caseworker.)
and few days after got a letter explaining that the checking process is not yet completed.

now is more than 9 months and the same response the check is not yet completed.

Hi Azdino

We are exactly in a same boat! Last month I asked my MP to get involve and today I received a response which is saying the checks are not yet completed!!!

[Zeebro44]

Eligibility criteria: 5 years Refugee Settlement + 1ILR
Language/LIUK Criteria: Trinity + Naric Crtf + Life in UK
Nationality : Non-EU
Method of application: online
Date of application: 14/08/2019
Payment method: Debit card
Date of acknowledgement: 16/08/2019
Date of debit of fees: 14/08/2019
Date of bio metric Appointment letter received: 14/08/2019
Date Bio metrics enrolled:21/08/2019 (Sal ford Manchester)
Date on Approval letter: 15//11/2019
Date of receipt of approval:waiting
Date of receipt of ceremony letter:waiting
Date of Ceremony:waiting


I sent an email to Citizenship support on 14/11/2019 asking for an update and I received the below response today.

Dear XXX

thank you for email below.
I am pleased to advise that your application has been approved and you will receive a citizenship ceremony invitation through the post in due course.
.................................................................................................................................................................................................

Kind regards
Mrs X XXXXX

Hi congrats kindly can u tell me which email you sent for request. Thanks

[Cocokrishan]

I applied on the 9th of may and still waiting. I emailed them last week after six months and this is the reply I got yesterday.

Dear xxxx



Thank you for your correspondence dated 11th November requesting progress on your application for naturalisation as a British citizen.



I can confirm that your application is in the process and that decisions on applications are usually made within six months.



I am sorry if your application is taking longer than usual, to be processed. As you may be aware, naturalisation is not an automatic process, and we have to make a number of enquiries to ensure that applicants can satisfy the statutory requirements. Some of these enquiries are carried out by external agencies on our behalf and can sometimes take longer than six months to complete.



We will endeavour to conclude your application at the earliest opportunity and we will write to you again as soon as the necessary checks are complete. Please be assured that, as soon as we are in a position to reach a decision, you will be notified accordingly.

[saamna]

Hi all applied for naturalisation on the 29th of April still waiting;
Eligibility criteria : 5 year Refugee + spouse of BC
Language/LIUK Criteria : IELTS/GMC registered/ 5 years of NHS experience+ Life in the UK Test
Nationality : Non-EU/EEA
Method of application : Online + New Service (UKVCAS)
Date of application : 28th April 2019
Payment method : Debit Card
Date of acknowledgement : Email on 29th April 2019 with case ID
Date Biometrics enrolled : 29th April 2019
Date on Approval letter : waiting
Date of receipt of approval: waiting
Date of receipt of ceremony letter : waiting
Date of Ceremony : waiting
Date of Passport Application : TBC

Emailed HO: and this is what they replied:
Our preparatory enquiries on your application are currently ongoing. Hopefully it will not take too much longer for the application to considered. Once the applications are decided, you will be contacted by a caseworker.
Anybody knows , why is this taking so long. Very unfair it is

Hi all, so I emailed them again and this is the reply I received. Please tell me, does it mean my application hasn't been passed on to caseworker yet? Admins plx pour in your thoughts aswell.

Thank you for your e-mail

I understand from our records that you were contacted by e mail on 4 November.

The documents which you may have provided, will be assessed once your application is considered.

Our preparatory enquiries on this application are currently ongoing. This means that the application cannot yet be allocated. Hopefully it will not take too much longer before the application to considered. You do not need to contact us as once the application is decided, you will be contacted by a caseworker.
Thank you for your patience
FMT
FMT Admin Support Nationality Group

[Sand6]

I applied on 17th of May and and got the same reply as well. I don’t know why it’s taking so long even though I got my ilr in 2 months through set p and my son’s registration certificate in one month but it is taking ages. It is so hard to wait but there is no other option.

[saamna]

I applied on 17th of May and and got the same reply as well. I don’t know why it’s taking so long even though I got my ilr in 2 months through set p and my son’s registration certificate in one month but it is taking ages. It is so hard to wait but there is no other option.

Exactly and they never give you a clear picture of what is going on...

[topsecret]

Eligibility criteria: 5 years Refugee Settlement + 1ILR
Language/LIUK Criteria: Trinity + Naric Crtf + Life in UK
Nationality : Non-EU
Method of application: online
Date of application: 14/08/2019
Payment method: Debit card
Date of acknowledgement: 16/08/2019
Date of debit of fees: 14/08/2019
Date of bio metric Appointment letter received: 14/08/2019
Date Bio metrics enrolled:21/08/2019 (Sal ford Manchester)
Date on Approval letter: 15//11/2019
Date of receipt of approval:waiting
Date of receipt of ceremony letter:waiting
Date of Ceremony:waiting


I sent an email to Citizenship support on 14/11/2019 asking for an update and I received the below response today.

Dear XXX

thank you for email below.
I am pleased to advise that your application has been approved and you will receive a citizenship ceremony invitation through the post in due course.
.................................................................................................................................................................................................

Kind regards
Mrs X XXXXX

Hi congrats kindly can u tell me which email you sent for request. Thanks

Hi zeebro44
it is nationalitysupportteamfmt@homeoffice.gov.uk

[Glasvitel]

Hi please was wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me.
Online application 14/09/19
Biometrics 20/09/19
I chose a council close to my work place for my ceremony because I work in a different city.
I sent couple of emails to different HO enquiry email add including FMT and got response from the other email add excluding FMT that from their record that application is not up to 6 months and would not be attended to.
I got another email from FMT on the 12/11/19 that I will be contacted by post within 21 working days.
Please anybody in the same boat who could throw more light.
Thanks

[boy2020]

Hi all, I applied naturalisation and my application is now approved. Should I apply for passport separately after the ceremony?

Also do I have to send my birth certificate for passport application and how long will it take to process?

Your help is much appreciated.

You can only apply for a passport after the ceremony (only then you are British).
The only documents required is your naturalisation certificate and your uncancelled passport(s) - originals only - NOT birth certificate.
Check the timeline thread for passport application - on average it probably takes about two weeks.

Thanks very much. Your advice is much appreciated. My passport application was just approved today..

[cm19]

Hi please was wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me.
Online application 14/09/19
Biometrics 20/09/19
I chose a council close to my work place for my ceremony because I work in a different city.
I sent couple of emails to different HO enquiry email add including FMT and got response from the other email add excluding FMT that from their record that application is not up to 6 months and would not be attended to.
I got another email from FMT on the 12/11/19 that I will be contacted by post within 21 working days.
Please anybody in the same boat who could throw more light.
Thanks

This usually means it's good news! Hope you get the brown envelope soon.

[Glasvitel]

Hi please was wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me.
Online application 14/09/19
Biometrics 20/09/19
I chose a council close to my work place for my ceremony because I work in a different city.
I sent couple of emails to different HO enquiry email add including FMT and got response from the other email add excluding FMT that from their record that application is not up to 6 months and would not be attended to.
I got another email from FMT on the 12/11/19 that I will be contacted by post within 21 working days.
Please anybody in the same boat who could throw more light.
Thanks

This usually means it's good news! Hope you get the brown envelope soon.

Thanks,hopefully fingers crossed

[saamna]

Hi all applied for naturalisation on the 29th of April still waiting;
Eligibility criteria : 5 year Refugee + spouse of BC
Language/LIUK Criteria : IELTS/GMC registered/ 5 years of NHS experience+ Life in the UK Test
Nationality : Non-EU/EEA
Method of application : Online + New Service (UKVCAS)
Date of application : 28th April 2019
Payment method : Debit Card
Date of acknowledgement : Email on 29th April 2019 with case ID
Date Biometrics enrolled : 29th April 2019
Date on Approval letter : waiting
Date of receipt of approval: waiting
Date of receipt of ceremony letter : waiting
Date of Ceremony : waiting
Date of Passport Application : TBC

Emailed HO: and this is what they replied:
Our preparatory enquiries on your application are currently ongoing. Hopefully it will not take too much longer for the application to considered. Once the applications are decided, you will be contacted by a caseworker.
Anybody knows , why is this taking so long. Very unfair it is

Hi all, so I emailed them again and this is the reply I received. Please tell me, does it mean my application hasn't been passed on to caseworker yet? Admins plx pour in your thoughts aswell.

Thank you for your e-mail

I understand from our records that you were contacted by e mail on 4 November.

The documents which you may have provided, will be assessed once your application is considered.

Our preparatory enquiries on this application are currently ongoing. This means that the application cannot yet be allocated. Hopefully it will not take too much longer before the application to considered. You do not need to contact us as once the application is decided, you will be contacted by a caseworker.
Thank you for your patience
FMT
FMT Admin Support Nationality Group

I want to travel abroad in xmas holidays, have a travel document. Can I?

[zeezai]

Hi guys,
Is it required to have a valid passport when applying for citizenship? My backpack along with my passport got stolen a week ago and I am in the middle of finishing my online application so I have not paid the fees yet. I have applied for a new passport but I was advised that it would take 8 to 10 weeks for it to be ready for collection.

[CR001]

Hi guys,
Is it required to have a valid passport when applying for citizenship? My backpack along with my passport got stolen a week ago and I am in the middle of finishing my online application so I have not paid the fees yet. I have applied for a new passport but I was advised that it would take 8 to 10 weeks for it to be ready for collection.

No you don't but you need to submit evidence of residence for any periods you do not have a passport.

[zeezai]

Hi guys,
Is it required to have a valid passport when applying for citizenship? My backpack along with my passport got stolen a week ago and I am in the middle of finishing my online application so I have not paid the fees yet. I have applied for a new passport but I was advised that it would take 8 to 10 weeks for it to be ready for collection.

No you don't but you need to submit evidence of residence for any periods you do not have a passport.

Thanks for the quick reply!:)

Evidence of residence like bank statements, bills?

Also, thankfully I had only one trip outside of UK using that passport (I only had it for a year before it got stolen) and I still have the boarding passes from that trip. Should I upload it along with other documents?