Naturalisation application processing timelines (only)

[Hwima]

Eligibility criteria: 6 years DLR + 4 years Settled Status
Language/LIUK Criteria: BSc / Passed LIUK test
Nationality: Zimbabwean
Method of application: online
Date of application: 23/03/2020
Payment method: Credit Card
Date of acknowledgment: 23/03/2020
Date of debit of fees: 23/03/2020
Date Biometrics enrolled: 10/06/2020 (postponed from 30/03 to 11/05 to 15/06)
Date on Approval letter: 23/02/2021
Date of receipt of approval: 23/02/2021
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: 09/04/2021
Date of Ceremony: 22/06/2021

It's been quite a journey since my arrival in 2002. Characterised by a lot of waiting and the anxiety that came with uncertainty at times. I'm glad it's all over now and wish you all the best going forward

[Longazz33]

Eligibility criteria: ILR
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1, Life in the UK pass
Nationality : Zimbabwe
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 27/12/20
Payment method: Debit card online
Date of debit of fees: 27/12/20
Date of acknowledgement: 28/12/21
Date of biometrics: 23/01/21
Date Biometrics enrolled: 23/01/21
Date on Approval letter: 09 June 2021
Date of receipt of approval: 19 June 2021 through the post, brown envelope, no email was ever sent
Date of receipt of ceremony letter:Waiting
Date of Ceremony: Waiting

The wait is long and very stressful. I really wish there was a way to track an application. I'm feeling so anxious about this as I have spent a considerable amount of money and so far no word back from the home office. I'm so stressed out and anxious as it is getting to 6 months and most of the people who applied same time as me already received their responses.

[Windrush+]

Eligibility criteria: ILR + 24 years, and married to UK citizen 5 years
Language/LIUK Criteria: Life in the UK test + Native English speaker
Nationality : Guyana and France (naturalised via first marriage)
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 6 January 2021
Payment method: Debit card online
Date of debit of fees and acknowledgement : 6 January 2021
Date of biometrics and enrollment: 2 February 2021 (Mark Lane, £199)
Date on Approval letter: Not, as such, received yet
Date of receipt of approval: 22 June 2021 (by email : NB on June 17th I wrote to Further Nationality Enquiries to complain about the delay and saying I would write my MP and the Windrush unit)
Date on ceremony letter: Pending
Date of Ceremony: Pending

[qwisnia]

Application Timeline
Eligibility criteria: EEA Citizen Residency (5yr) + 14 months
Language Criteria: B1 exam + Life in the UK test
Nationality: Polish
Method of application: Online + UKVCAS
Date of application: 11/03/2020
Date of email acknowledgement: 12/03/2020
Fee paid debit card: 11/03/2020
Date biometrics enrolled: 13/03/2020 at Croydon London Paid service £110
Date on Approval letter: 10/06/2020 (by email)
Date of receipt of approval: 10/06/2020 (by email)
Date of ceremony letter: 29/03/2021
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: 10/04/2021
Date of Ceremony: 27/05/2021
Date of passport application: 28/05/2021
Passport received: 15/06/2021
Supporting documents received: 18/06/2021

Finally journey is over

[jzag1989]

Eligibility criteria: 5yr + 1yr EU Settled Status
Language/LIUK Criteria: UK BSc and MSc degrees
Nationality: EU (Poland)
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 5 January 2021
Date of debit of fees: 5 January 2021
Date of acknowledgement: Not sure I received one
Date Biometrics booked: 5 January 2021
Date Biometrics enrolled: 1 February 2021 (London)
Date on Approval/Ceremony letter: 14 June 2021
Date of receipt of Approval/Ceremony letter: 22 June 2021 (I only received one letter - not sure if this is thee approval or the ceremony one, but it seems to mention application approval as well as next steps to book the ceremony)
Date of Ceremony: 30 June 2021 (Camden, London)

Such a long wait and funnily enough I sent a letter to the HO on the same day as they approved my application! I panicked about some of the answers on my application and thought sending a cover letter would help clarify a few things - I could see so many receiving approval who applied after me, I thought I'd help with whatever the hold up is! If this has taught me anything is that you just need to wait, NOT panic, and be confident in your application. Do your best to provide all the documents, and if it helps with your peace of mind, add a cover letter at the point of application . Big thanks to this forum, it's been such a comfort! Good luck all!

[icebat]

Eligibility criteria: EU ILR + 1year
Language/LIUK Criteria: Life in the UK + ESOL SELT B1 + US Citizen
Nationality : Italian, American
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 16 May 2021
Payment method: Credit card online
Date of debit of fees and acknowledgement : 16 May 2021
Date of biometrics and enrollment: 11 Jun 2021 (Croydon)
Date on Approval letter: pending
Date of receipt of approval: pending
Date of ceremony letter: pending

[RSH]

Eligibility criteria: 5 years + 1 year Settled status
Language/LIUK Criteria: Life in the UK pass, Uk Degree
Nationality : Pakistan
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 06/01/21
Payment method: Debit card online
Date of debit of fees: 06/01/21
Date of biometrics: 12/02/21 (Manchester)
Date of receipt of approval: 26/06/2021 (No email)
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: TBA
Date of Ceremony: TBA

[Aendil]

Eligibility criteria: EU settled status (+12 months)
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1 test + LIUK test
Nationality : EU
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 11 January 2021
Date of acknowledgement: 13 January 2021
Date of debit of fees: 11 January 2021
Date Biometrics submitted: 29 January (in person appointment) - Enhanced as no available free
Date of receipt of approval: 26/06/2021 (no email, letter by post)
Date on Approval letter: 16/06/2021
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: Waiting
Date of Ceremony: Waiting

[Hass112]

Eligibility criteria: ILR + 19 years
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1 / LIUK Pass
Nationality: Non EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 12/12/2020
Receipt of your application: 14/12/2020
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 04/01/2021
Biometrics Appointment: 06/01/2021
Date of approval: 02/06/2021 and invitation on the letter.
Letter received:21/06/2021
Date of ceremony: 28/06/2021 original date was 05/07/21 I emailed them back and got a same day appointment after a cancellation (Southwark council)

I never received approval email just a brown envelope invitation letter.

Alhamdulilah the journey is over I want to thank this forum specially CULLINAN and alterhase58 for answering my questions.

Of to passport timeline now!!

Good luck everyone

[Magus1984]

Application Timeline
Eligibility criteria: ILR (EU settled status as unmarried partner) + 1yr
Language/LIUK Criteria: UK Masters Degree
Nationality: Argentina
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 9 January 2021
Date of debit of fees:9 January 2021 (£1349.20)
Date of acknowledgement: 11 January 2021 (application received and being considered)
Date Biometrics enrolled: 5 February 2021 (Free - Croydon)
Date of Approval letter/e-mail: not received
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: 14 June 2021
Date of Ceremony: first available ceremony (free) in September

Good luck to all!

[Aendil]

Eligibility criteria: EU settled status (+12 months)
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1 test + LIUK test
Nationality : EU
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 11 January 2021
Date of acknowledgement: 13 January 2021
Date of debit of fees: 11 January 2021
Date Biometrics submitted: 29 January (in person appointment) - Enhanced as no available free
Date of receipt of approval: 26/06/2021 (no email, letter by post)
Date on Approval letter: 16/06/2021
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: Booked private ceremony for the 14/07/2021 as council sent letter to say that group ceremonies are delayed for now (good opportunity for cash grabbing I would say)
Date of Ceremony: Waiting

[Salsero_007]

My wife's timeline

Eligibility criteria: ILR + Spouse of British citizen
Language/LIUK Criteria: Trinity rest
Nationality: Russia
Date of application: 10 February 2021
Date Biometrics enrolled: 18 March 2021
Date of Approval letter/e-mail: there was none
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: 26 June 2021, dated 18 June 2021
Date of Ceremony: free one offered on 16 August, went for a private one on 22 July (Weybridge, Surrey)

Some maths to save others the trouble of analysing the forum:
for applications submitted in 2021, average and median processing times from application date are ~75 days, with standard deviation of about 30 days. This means 15% applicants get their approval in 30 days, half in 75 days, 85% in 100 days. Maximum time so far is 140 days. It seems that an increasing number of applicants are not receiving a separate approval notification, they get it together with the ceremony invitaton.

Best luck, and lots of patience for those who are waiting fro their decision.

[islandfox]

Eligibility criteria: ILR + 1 year
Nationality: Non EU
Date of application: 8 February 2021
Date Biometrics enrolled: 5 March 2021 (London, Sopra Steria Mark Lane paid appointment)
Date of Approval letter/e-mail: never received
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: waiting...

when I applied they said estimated time of approval could around 2.5 months. It feels now there may be a backlog of EU settlement applications

[mbhm]

Eligibility criteria: Settled status + 1year
Language/LIUK Criteria: Trinity college
Nationality: Czech
Date of application: 08 February 2021
Date Biometrics enrolled: 11 February 2021
Date of Approval letter/e-mail: waiting
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: waiting
Date of Ceremony: waiting

I am currently on day 142 with no decision yet, so i don’t fit into the stats above

[iceman809]

Eligibility criteria: Permanent Residence Card + 1 year
Nationality: Non-EU
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 07/02/2021
Date of acknowledgement: 07/02/2021
Payment method: Debit online 07/02/2021
Date Biometrics enrolled: 04/03/2021
Date on Approval letter: WAIT
Date of receipt of approval: WAIT
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: WAIT

Add me I have not yet decided on the 143th day, so I am not suitable for the above statistics

[iceman809]

Eligibility criteria: Permanent Residence Card + 1 year
Nationality: Non-EU
Method of application: Online
Date of application: 07/02/2021
Date of acknowledgement: 07/02/2021
Payment method: Debit online 07/02/2021
Date Biometrics enrolled: 04/03/2021
Date on Approval letter: WAITING
Date of receipt of approval: WAITING
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: WAITING

Add me I have not yet decided on the 143th day, so I am not suitable for the above statistics

[KJFH]

Eligibility criteria: 5 year + 1 year EU Settlement and spouse of BC
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1 / LIUK Pass
Nationality: Dutch
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 11/02/2021
Receipt of your application: 12/02/2021
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 16/02/2021
Biometrics Appointment: 11/03/2021
Date of approval:
Date of approval Letter:
Date of ceremony letter:
Date of ceremony:

[samapply]

Eligibility criteria: 5yr + 1yr
Language/LIUK Criteria: Master degree (UK)
Nationality: Non-EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 18/12/2020
Payment method: credit card
Receipt of your application: 21/12/2020
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 12/01/2021
Biometrics Appointment: 15/01/2021
Date on approval letter: waiting
Date of receipt of approval letter: waiting
Date on ceremony letter: waiting
Date of ceremony: waiting

Another update
Eligibility criteria: 5yr + 1yr
Language/LIUK Criteria: Master degree (UK)
Nationality: Non-EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 18/12/2020
Payment method: credit card
Receipt of your application: 21/12/2020
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 12/01/2021
Biometrics Appointment: 15/01/2021
Date on approval letter: 03/06/2021
Date of receipt of approval letter: 12/06/2021
Date on ceremony letter:
Date of ceremony:

Update
Eligibility criteria: 5yr + 1yr
Language/LIUK Criteria: Master degree (UK)
Nationality: Non-EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 18/12/2020
Payment method: credit card
Receipt of your application: 21/12/2020
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 12/01/2021
Biometrics Appointment: 15/01/2021
Date on approval letter: Never Received
Date of receipt of approval letter: Never Received
Date on ceremony letter: 12/06/2021
Date of ceremony: 15/07/2021

[EniB88]

Joined naturalisation application with my non-EU husband and EU citizen daughter for all 3 of us
Eligibility criteria: 6yr EUSS ILR + 2yr (myself), 7yr EUSS ILR by marriage for my husband) and EUSS for my daughter who was born here before we had ILR
Language/LIUK Criteria: PTE B1 (for me), British university degree (hubby), (our daughter is 3, we didnt need to prove her knowledge ) + LIT UK passed
Nationality: EU (myself) + Indian Husband + EU national child (she got my citizenship when she was born)
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 04/03/2021
Payment method: debit card
Receipt of your application: 05/03/2021 for daughter and me and 17/03/2021 for hubby
Biometrics Appointment: 31/03/2021
Date on approval letter: awaiting
Date of receipt of approval letter: awaiting
Date on ceremony letter: awaiting
Date of ceremony: awaiting

I hope it won't take too much longer, considering that it is a joined application for 3 of us. Also, we applied together at once for 3 of us, yet hubby's receipt of application came two weeks later than mine and my daughter's...

[CoPhi]

Eligibility criteria: EU Settlement status + 1 year
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1 / LIUK Pass
Nationality: EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 17/02/2021
Receipt of your application: 18/02/2021
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 07/03/2021
Biometrics Appointment: 07/03/2021
Date of approval: WAITING
Date of approval Letter: WAITING
Date of ceremony letter: WAITING
Date of ceremony: WAITING

[Sambi]

Eligibility Criteria: ILR +1 year
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1/ LIUK
Nationality: Non EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 5/02/2021
Receipt of application: 8/02/2021
Document Uploaded to UKVCAS: 11/02/20201
Date of biometric enrolment: 05/03/2021
Date of approval letter: Never recieve
Date of reciept of ceremony letter: 03/07/2021
Date of ceremony: awaiting :

[Simre]

Eligibility Criteria: ILR + Spouse of British Citizen
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1/ LIUK
Nationality: Non EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 09/05/2021
Receipt of application: 09/05/2021
Document Uploaded to UKVCAS: 04/06/20201
Date of biometric enrolment: 04/06/2021
Date of approval letter: waiting
Date of reciept of ceremony letter: waiting
Date of ceremony: awaiting: waiting

[Shahzad305]

Eligibility Criteria: ILR + Spouse of British Citizen
Language/LIUK Criteria: B1/ LIUK
Nationality: Non EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 29-04-21
Receipt of application: 29-04-21
Document Uploaded to UKVCAS: 29-04-21
Date of biometric enrolment: 30-04-21(was lucky to have next day appointment)
Date of approval letter: waiting
Date of reciept of ceremony letter: waiting
Date of ceremony: awaiting

[eur1gbp]

Eligibility criteria: Settled status + 1year
Nationality: EU
Date of application: 16 May 2021
Date Biometrics enrolled: 08 June 2021
Date of Approval letter/e-mail: waiting
Date of receipt of ceremony letter: waiting
Date of Ceremony: waiting

[nordlending]

Eligibility criteria: 5 year Tier 2 General Visa + 1 year Indefinite Leave to Remain
Language/LIUK Criteria: English speaking national / LIUK Pass
Nationality: Non-EU/USA
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 28/01/2021
Receipt of your application: 28/01/2021
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 10/02/2021
Biometrics Appointment: 08/03/2021 (free)
Date of approval: 21/06/2021 (4mo + 24 days)
Date of approval Letter: 26/06/2021 (by post, no email received)
Date of ceremony letter: 03/07/2021
Date of ceremony: 22/07/2021 (virtual)