Naturalisation application taking too long

[ILR10YEARBASIS]

my friend applied for naturalisation in May 2015 for himself and his two children. they recorded the biometrics I June 2015. After that no reply from them. so he called them 03001232253 and the lady took his detail and said some obe will ring. when they rang they said they cannot give any information , he was told to write a letter explaining his situation . he wrote them a letter sent it in recorded delivery so and no reply.
he than contacted his MP MP wrote letter in December 2015. After MPs Letter they sent a reply to his letter which he wrote to them , the letter said his case was under high scrutiny and will follow decision. In april 2016 his MP told him to wait for 4 months. In August 2016 he contacted his MP again , his MP didnt get a response from UKVI after three weeks.
what should he do next , any other legal avenues available to him. Its been 16 months since he applied.
is there any way he can enquire about his application as its been 16 months ?

[Brainy]

hello mate,
Is your case straigforward ? my case is with ukvi for almost 10 months . i did contacted them same way like you did and got same answers .
I worked F/T during my student visa & was arrested for domestic but wasnt charged however never needed to mentioned to the ukvi . then i requested my SAR recently and found out they have my arrest info .
pluse i can see some checks made my ukvi
but what checks , start & end dates 7 checks are blocked out.
not sure whats going on its been long . did you requested your SAR.
thnx

[ILR10YEARBASIS]

My friends case is straight forward. He didnt had any such issues.
Is there any other way he can speed up his application. UKVI taking far too long , can they do this by law. Is UKVI allowed to take as much time as they like in deciding Naturalisation applications.

Please help.

Thanks

[CR001]

Is UKVI allowed to take as much time as they like in deciding Naturalisation applications.

Yes, HO can take as long as they feel is necessary. There are a couple of members waiting since May 2014.

Citizenship is a privilege not a right.

[secret.simon]

Is UKVI allowed to take as much time as they like in deciding Naturalisation applications.

To the best of my knowledge, yes.

There is no going back from a grant of naturalisation. It is much harder to revoke citizenship than it is to revoke either PR or ILR. So, understandably, the Home Office would want to be thorough in their checks.

The UK is one of the fastest countries in the EU when processing naturalisation applications. Spain and Italy can take between 1 - 2 years. Switzerland takes about 20 months, unless you are married to a Swiss citizen, in which case, it is generally about 8 months.

Besides, with the current rush of EEA citizens applying for naturalisation and cuts to government services, slowdowns are inevitable.

[holaiker]

mine has been more than 5 months since i submitted the application via NCS

Most of the people who applied around the same time have received approval

I did work on a student visa but that was part-time work & was within 20 hours per week. I provided all information on the application form. WIthin the past few years, i have never had any problems when i had to extend my visa or apply for ILR

I am not sure who is on the same boat.

[Casa]

mine has been more than 5 months since i submitted the application via NCS

Most of the people who applied around the same time have received approval

I did work on a student visa but that was part-time work & was within 20 hours per week. I provided all information on the application form. WIthin the past few years, i have never had any problems when i had to extend my visa or apply for ILR

I am not sure who is on the same boat.

I assume you're following the British citizenship naturalisation application timeline thread?

http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... -8680.html