I would be grateful for advice on an extremely delayed British naturalisation application and the best escalation route at this stage.
Timeline
- 25 Oct 2019 — Applied for naturalisation with my wife
- 5 Nov 2020 — Home Office said I was not present in the UK at the start of the qualifying period
- 18 Nov 2020 — Application officially re-started
- 2 Dec 2020 — My wife received her citizenship
- My application has remained pending ever since
- Progress enquiries: Dec 2020, May 2021, Aug 2021
- 4 Aug 2021 — Formal complaint submitted
- 1 Sep 2021 — Complaint not upheld (external checks cited)
- MP intervention throughout 2021
- 2 Aug 2022 — Second complaint submitted
- 29 Aug 2022 — Complaint not upheld again
- No meaningful communication until Feb 2026
Documents disclosed by the Home Office confirm:
- Criminality checks requested 23 April 2025
- Criminality checks completed 24 April 2025 → result “No match”
- Digital file remained active and monitored as of Feb 2026
Most Recent Response
On 25 Feb 2026, the nationality team confirmed only that “checks have not been completed” and no timeframe could be provided.
I have now requested a Complaint Review from UK Visas and Immigration.
Current Situation
- Application pending over 6 years since restart
- Two formal complaints rejected
- MP involvement unsuccessful
- No refusal decision
- No request for further documents
- No explanation for the length of delay
- Has anyone experienced a delay of this length with naturalisation?
- Is escalation to the Independent Examiner of Complaints appropriate at this stage?
- Would a judicial review pre-action letter be premature or reasonable now?
- Any other escalation route that has worked in similar cases?
Thank you.