When should I apply for passport?

[zero1]

Hello,

I am having the naturalisation ceremony on Tuesday, after that I will be eligible to apply for passport.

I read on the government website that it takes at least 6 weeks to get passport, but the timeline thread on this forum says people are getting it within 3-4 weeks.

I need to travel in 5 weeks time (middle of March) after my ceremony. I need to travel every 6 weeks or so anyway for work, but I know passport applications are likely to take longer during summer.

So should I apply for passport now and hope it will come back in time for my next travel? Is there any way to get the supporting documents (i.e. my current passport + naturalisation cert) back more quickly, so I can use them to travel if my British passport is slow to be produced?

Lastly, for anyone who tried entering UK on foreign passport + naturalisation certificate, do you need to fill in the landing card, and can you use the UK/EU queue if it's faster than the non-EU queue?

[milan69]

Before I have applied for my British passport I have traveled on my old passport with ILR (I had my certificate with me) and I had to fill the landing carx, just like every time before.
I suggest you apply for passport when you have mist time to spare.

[secret.simon]

Does your other nationality allow for dual citizenship? If so, look at getting a CoE-RoA vignette in your current passport instead of a British passport.

[milan69]

My other nationality allows dual citizenship.
What is CoE-RoA?

[secret.simon]

@Milan69,
My apologies for being so obtuse. A CoE-RoA vignette is a Certificate of Entitlement (CoE)- Right of Abode (RoA). It is a vignette attached to the current non-British passports of dual UK citizens to signify that they have the right of abode in the UK.

One of the conditions for issuing a CoE-RoA is that the dual UK citizen does not have and has not had in the past been issued with a British passport. The OP has not yet been issued with a British passport and so is eligible to exercise this option if he is so minded.

[zero1]

@secretsimon

Thanks, I already know about the CoEtRoA. However as I have no restrictions on multiple citizenships, I don't see any advantage of this. It costs more than the passport and there is no in-person service either, which means there is the same risk of documents being lost by the bureaucracy or even lost by special delivery (very rare but it happens)

Since it seems that the UK doesn't require its citizens to use their passport, I might as well just use my naturalisation certificate until I can stay in the UK for more than 2 months in one go and apply for the passport then. Actually for me the main advantages of the British passport will be shorter waiting times when entering Schengen - whenever I have entered the UK, the non-EU queue is always faster and since receiving ILR the officers rarely ask questions

[CR001]

as well just use my naturalisation certificate

This is not a travel document. You will need to use your foreign passport and ILR BRP card to enter the UK.

[sjj101]

as well just use my naturalisation certificate

This is not a travel document. You will need to use your foreign passport and ILR BRP card to enter the UK.

I was in similar situation, I was not able to apply for passport since I was travelling for work on a monthly basis and weren't in the UK for longer than 2 weeks at a time. A couple months after obtaining my citizenship my Biometrics Residence Permit card stopped working and they were not able to pull up my biometric details on their systems. To cut a long story short, following many dramas at various airports where nobody could tell me why my card isn't working I was informed that they have actually deactivated my BRP card and removed my details from the system. Apparently they do so following naturalisation since they expect you to apply for a passport and I was told I'll be refused entry next time I travel without a British passport.

[Samaralady]

Sorry if this sounds stupid (re passports I'm an absolute newbie), but this doesn't apply to EU passport holders, does it? Ie, I can continue using my German passport until it expires (2016) and then apply for a British passport (and a simple German ID card instead of a passport).

I don't want to send any documents by post unless I absolutely have to, it's too risky. The alternative would simply be not to apply for a British passport at all, at least I can renew my German one at the embassy and don't have to send anything by post.

[Pinkflamy]

I would suggest you use the Nationality Checking Service
https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... ng-service

It costs approx. £50 depending on where you apply, but they make copies and certify all documents that you need to send in, so you can keep your originals (inlcuding passport) - it never has to leave your sight! This means you can travel on your current passport until such time as the new one arrives.

[boloney]

I would suggest you use the Nationality Checking Service
https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... ng-service

It costs approx. £50 depending on where you apply, but they make copies and certify all documents that you need to send in, so you can keep your originals (inlcuding passport) - it never has to leave your sight! This means you can travel on your current passport until such time as the new one arrives.

What NCS have to do with passport application? Nothing.