Wife's application for naturalisation rejected for no (valid) reason

[Manmoth]

Hi,
Just received this rejection today, was a bit confused, could anyone provide advice?

I'm an Irish citizen, we're living in Northern Ireland. My wife arrived here in February 2015, so we sent off the naturalisation application form in May 2018.

We get a letter today saying that she hadn't met the residency requirements, which is 3 years for spouses. They didn't even say why they had come to that conclusion, or what sort of documentation could be missing, or even offer us a chance to respond.

Thing is, in order to try to make the application as strong as possible, I'd divided it into multiple of those plastic pocket things, and there was one each of those for each year of residency, as requested. I must have put about 10-15 different official letters and stuff in for each year, just to be absolutely sure. Tenancy agreements, letters confirming national insurance numbers, bank statements etc. It seemed pretty watertight to me. There was also a stamp in her passport showing the date she entered the country. I don't understand how they can just flatly say she doesn't have the required residency without any further justification.

So, questions are:
- Is there any way to appeal this? I think I read there's no inbuilt appeal process, but maybe a lawyer might be able to suggest some kind of route? We're arranging an appointment with one, but the more info the better.
- We sent practically all the documentation we had proving residency in this application, so if they don't give us this back then there's no way we can lodge another application. Is there any way to get this back? They wouldn't just throw away documents that are obviously quite important (given that they were essential to our application), right?

[eraylankester]

This is dreadful. When did you apply? Had you any previous correspondence with INIS prior to your refusal (requests for further information, additional evidence, etc)?

Has your wife been absent from NI for over 6 weeks in any year, or for an extended period of time?

Just to clarify, when were you married?

[Manmoth]

This is dreadful. When did you apply?

11th May, I believe. Might be a day or two off.

Had you any previous correspondence with INIS prior to your refusal (requests for further information, additional evidence, etc)?

No, when we received the letter today we thought it was just confirmation that it had been received, initially. It only mentioned the rejection in the last paragraph.

Has your wife been absent from NI for over 6 weeks in any year, or for an extended period of time?

No, she hasn't been out at all. We were slightly paranoid after she got sent back from Heathrow when she tried to visit the first time in February 2014 lol (should have mentioned, she's Singaporean). I was hoping to get her citizenship before any holidays for peace of mind, although I know she can technically travel on her residence card so long as I bring along the marriage certificate... I guess I just don't trust border agents now to be completely fair or follow the law.

Just to clarify, when were you married?

October 2014, in Singapore.

I'd almost think it was something like a poorly trained person handling the case who didn't understand the Northern Ireland angle and basically said "welp, no residency stamps, so can't have the residency permission!"