Post
by ohara » Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:54 pm
The only contact I had from UKVI was a confirmation email saying they had received my application, which came exactly 3 weeks after the payment was taken.
Everything arrived back in the same envelope delivered in 2nd class standard post, although I had requested my passport back separately earlier for other reasons and that had arrived by 1st class recorded post.
Be aware that nowhere on the PR card or accompanying letter does it state the actual date of your PR. Unless you are absolutely certain (for example if you have a straightforward case) of your PR date, it might be a good idea to confirm before sending your naturalisation application. There are two ways you can do this:
1) Use NCS to send your application. They can check on the phone during the appointment, and at most you risk losing the NCS fee if something has messed up somewhere.
2) Submit a subject access request (SAR) to UKVI. They will send you any data they hold on you, which will include a page stating the date of your PR which looks like so:
The downside to number 2 is that it can take up to 40 working days for UKVI to respond to your SAR. However, they do have a pilot project at the moment where they are fast tracking some SARs and responding within a week. Mine didn't make it onto this, and I had to wait 5 weeks, probably because I asked them for ALL of the data they hold on me. One other member of this forum though, specifically asked ONLY for the date of his PR, and his got fast tracked and received the reply in a week, as well as a refund of his £10.