Applying for British Citizenship based on ILR

[arsenal49]

Hi all,

I have an ILR for 10 months now and now starting to think about applying for british citizenship (uk passport).

i understand i can only apply for it after 12 months have elapsed while on ILR.

i was wondering if one of you guys who have been currrently going through the process can summarise the process for me with a rough guidance on the timeline for each stage of the application.

I am also interested in finding out about common pitfalls or things which are a time-hog as well as out of my hand (e.g. referees etc.) when going through the application stages.

Your help will be greatly appreciated

[CR001]

Please search the forum, there are many posts and timeline threads. Have you read the AN form, guidance and booklet?

If your tax affairs are in order and you have been legal throughout your stay and never been illegal or overstayer, you should be ok.

[arsenal49]

i am looking for a summary of the process as the information out there is a bit over-whelming and causing me to lose sight of the bigger picture.

For example, the AN form, page 30 ...

SECTION 3 Evidence of lawful residence during the 5 (or, if the applicant is married or in
civil partnership to a British citizen, 3) years before the date of the application: required for
applications made on the basis of residence in the United Kingdom: required for all applicants
•
Your passports Or
•
Letters from employers, educational establishments or other Government Departments
indicating presence in UK

i'm stumped... evidence of lawful residence by my current passport?! how's that going to prove that i have been legal. do they mean my ILR card? or sm i missing something here.

similarly,

SECTION 5 Evidence of freedom from immigration time restrictions:required for all applicants
except those covered by SECTION 4 above.
• Your passport showing permission to remain permanently in the UK Or
• The Home Office letter by which you were given permission to remain permanently in the UK
• If you came to the UK as an asylum seeker you should have evidence of appeal applications
Or
• Evidence of being freely landed

is my ILR card not enough? what if i dont have HO letter anymore?

thanks

[cs95tdg]

For example, the AN form, page 30 ...

SECTION 3 Evidence of lawful residence during the 5 (or, if the applicant is married or in
civil partnership to a British citizen, 3) years before the date of the application: required for
applications made on the basis of residence in the United Kingdom: required for all applicants
•
Your passports Or
•
Letters from employers, educational establishments or other Government Departments
indicating presence in UK

i'm stumped... evidence of lawful residence by my current passport?! how's that going to prove that i have been legal. do they mean my ILR card? or sm i missing something here.

The passport would have visa vignettes affixed on it covering the required residence period. Hence is used as a means to verify that you had valid leave to remain in the country (I.e. were thereby lawfully resident). It's also used to verify your absences are within the allowed threshold - looking at the entry & exit stamps.

SECTION 5 Evidence of freedom from immigration time restrictions:required for all applicants
except those covered by SECTION 4 above.
• Your passport showing permission to remain permanently in the UK Or
• The Home Office letter by which you were given permission to remain permanently in the UK
• If you came to the UK as an asylum seeker you should have evidence of appeal applications
Or
• Evidence of being freely landed

is my ILR card not enough? what if i dont have HO letter anymore?

the ILR card is sufficient to meet this requirement. The underlined point above refers to the same, even though it's still worded to be in line with the ILR stamp that used to be placed in passports, prior to when BRP cards were introduced.

[CR001]

FAQs Citizenship Common Question (Click)

[arsenal49]

Thanks guys.

Is it true that if i use NCS before submitting my application for naturalisation, i get to keep my original passport and can use it to travel outside the UK for a week or so, with no consequences to my application for naturalisation?

It will be a huge plus if thats the case and to be honest sounds too good to be true!

can someone please confirm

[zahmed05]

That's all correct.

[cs95tdg]

Thanks guys.

Is it true that if i use NCS before submitting my application for naturalisation, i get to keep my original passport and can use it to travel outside the UK for a week or so, with no consequences to my application for naturalisation?

It will be a huge plus if thats the case and to be honest sounds too good to be true!

can someone please confirm

Yes true. There is also a new pilot scheme (only offered by a limited number of councils) where you are able to apply for both Naturalisation and Passport at the same time. Worth checking to see if it would be of interest to you and available at your local council.

[cs95tdg]

The topic for the pilot scheme is http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... 98846.html

[arsenal49]

thanks everyone.

i was wondering if i HAVE to use my local council for NCS or it can be any council authority offering NCS . So for example, lets say i live in Harrogate but i dont want to pay their stupid fees and instead want to get it done via Manchester council where its cheaper. Will it cause any issue?

anyone done that?

is MAnchester on their pilot scheme?

[CR001]

thanks everyone.

i was wondering if i HAVE to use my local council for NCS or it can be any council authority offering NCS . So for example, lets say i live in Harrogate but i dont want to pay their stupid fees and instead want to get it done via Manchester council where its cheaper. Will it cause any issue?

anyone done that?

is MAnchester on their pilot scheme?

You can use any NCS at any council to submit your application. It does not have to be where you live.

[cs95tdg]

is MAnchester on their pilot scheme?

Best to call them to find out, or else check the council website. You can use any NCS that is convenient for you.