British Citizenship Documentation with Sopra Steria

[Tiffanni]

Hello,

My spouse has ILR and we planned to apply for her citizenship in Jan 2019, using the documentation checking service at our local authority (no longer available). With the introduction of Sopra Steria, do they effectively check your documents for you, or when you apply online do you have the option of scanning your passport etc and uploading, but essentially not sending the actual documents to the Home Office?

We wanted to put through the application and keep hold of her passport so we could travel, as we've trips planned all throughout the year. Is this still possible with the new service, or must we send it to the Home Office for who knows how long...?

Thanks!

[CR001]

The new service you get to keep your originals yes.

[Tiffanni]

So, just to clarify, she doesn't have to turn in her passport for the duration of the application?

[CR001]

Correct, only if using the new service. If you apply by post, you must send originals.