Citizenship Approved unique case

[makky86]

Hi Everyone,

First of all thanks to all the members for helping each other specially CR001

I thought I'd share my little story in case others might fall in same situation.

I got my ILR on 8th Jan 2018 so I was eligible for Citizenship on 8th Jan 2019.

Now I was out of the country until 11th Jan 5 years back. By mistake I applied online on 6th Jan 2019 later I came to know the date of application is actually the date of acknowledgemnt which I received on 7th Jan 2019.

So technically I was not elible and also out of countr.y

I attached covering letter mentioining that it was a geniune mistake but I didn't have any hopes being honest.

Today out of nowhere I receive letter in a second class post and it was my citizenship approval haha

The date of approval is 11th Feb 2019 so they actually processed in less than month.

Again thanks for everyone I hope it may be useful for others.

[secret.simon]

Now I was out of the country until 11th Jan 5 years back

What date did you leave the UK five years ago?

[makky86]

Now I was out of the country until 11th Jan 5 years back

What date did you leave the UK five years ago?

I was out from 5th until 13th Jan 2014 and I applied on 7th Jan 2019 online by mistake. But my appointment with sopra was 14th Jan 2019.

I think I was lucky as case worker must have applied discretion.

[secret.simon]

Are you married to a British citizen? Or did you redeclare the application? If not, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your British citizenship may be a nullity as it is not granted in accordance with the law.

The caseworker cannot have exercised discretion as there is no discretion to disregard physical presence in the UK at the start of the five year period (if not married to a British citizen), which is an absolute requirement.

See Page 14 of the Naturalisation as a British citizen guidance.

Presence in the UK at the start of the qualifying period

There are certain people who do not need to have been in the UK at the start of the 5 year qualifying period. These are:
• applicants who are applying only on the grounds of Crown service
• applicants who are or have been a member of the UK armed forces
• spouses or civil partner of British citizens in Crown or designated service overseas
• applicants who are technically absent from the UK

All other applicants must have been physically present in the UK on the first day of the qualifying period. There is no discretion to overlook this requirement.
…
Where the applicant fails to meet the requirement to be in the UK at the start of the qualifying period by 2 months or less, either side of the application date, you must consider using discretion to allow them to re-declare their application. Where discretion is being exercised you must request that the applicant re-declares their application, by using Doc Gen letter 4746.

The last sentence means that the caseworker should have written to you to ask you to redate the application and resubmit it.

Also see Section 2 of Schedule 1 of the British Nationality Act 1981, which lists the discretions that the SoS/Home Office does have. It does not list the physical presence requirement as one in which discretion can be exercised.

[Nusratali786]

Secret simon just keep it secret plz. The guy is happy and home office have power vested in the case worker to make the decision.

[secret.simon]

Secret simon just keep it secret plz. The guy is happy and home office have power vested in the case worker to make the decision.

The point I am making is that there is no discretion. I'd rather advise that the OP is aware of any likely issues now and fixes them asap than have issues a few years down the line.

The only other alternative explanations that I have are that the caseworker has likely taken the Sopra Stevia visit on 14th January as the date of submission or effectively as a redeclaration (especially if the submitted documents were dated 14th January). But short of the above two, it is likely that the approval may be incorrect in law. The caseworker can't grant approval in a case where the requirements of the law are not met.

I think an SAR on the Home Office may be in order to see what the caseworker has noted on the file.

[makky86]

Secret simon just keep it secret plz. The guy is happy and home office have power vested in the case worker to make the decision.

The point I am making is that there is no discretion. I'd rather advise that the OP is aware of any likely issues now and fixes them asap than have issues a few years down the line.

The only other alternative explanations that I have are that the caseworker has likely taken the Sopra Stevia visit on 14th January as the date of submission or effectively as a redeclaration (especially if the submitted documents were dated 14th January). But short of the above two, it is likely that the approval may be incorrect in law. The caseworker can't grant approval in a case where the requirements of the law are not met.

Yes that is what I mentioned in my letter. I uploaded a letter mentioning that I applied based on the sopra appointment as date of application. So they have considered that.

Yes the docs were submitted on 14th Jann by Sopra so its must have been noted on the file.

I think I am good

[romado]

Now I was out of the country until 11th Jan 5 years back. By mistake I applied online on 6th Jan 2019 later I came to know the date of application is actually the date of acknowledgemnt which I received on 7th Jan 2019.

That's interesting. I applied online on 22th of Nov 2018, received Payment confirmation in 2 mins after submitted application, but actual acknowledgement letter (with case number) came next day 23 Nov. I physically left the UK for business trip on 23th of Nov 2015.

Guide tells following:

You must also check that you were physically present in the UK 5 years (3 years if
you are married to or in civil partnership with a British citizen) before the date that the
application will be received by the Home Office or other receiving authority

So what is to be considered the day of "application receive" when applying online? In my view it should be the date when you click "Submit" button.

[apsk]

Hi Everyone,

First of all thanks to all the members for helping each other specially CR001

I thought I'd share my little story in case others might fall in same situation.

I got my ILR on 8th Jan 2018 so I was eligible for Citizenship on 8th Jan 2019.

Now I was out of the country until 11th Jan 5 years back. By mistake I applied online on 6th Jan 2019 later I came to know the date of application is actually the date of acknowledgemnt which I received on 7th Jan 2019.

So technically I was not elible and also out of countr.y

I attached covering letter mentioining that it was a geniune mistake but I didn't have any hopes being honest.

Today out of nowhere I receive letter in a second class post and it was my citizenship approval haha

The date of approval is 11th Feb 2019 so they actually processed in less than month.

Again thanks for everyone I hope it may be useful for others.

Are you sure you applied online on 6th Jan 2019 even when you were eligible to apply on and after 8th Jan 2019?

[kautya]

Now I was out of the country until 11th Jan 5 years back. By mistake I applied online on 6th Jan 2019 later I came to know the date of application is actually the date of acknowledgemnt which I received on 7th Jan 2019.

That's interesting. I applied online on 22th of Nov 2018, received Payment confirmation in 2 mins after submitted application, but actual acknowledgement letter (with case number) came next day 23 Nov. I physically left the UK for business trip on 23th of Nov 2015.

Guide tells following:

You must also check that you were physically present in the UK 5 years (3 years if
you are married to or in civil partnership with a British citizen) before the date that the
application will be received by the Home Office or other receiving authority

So what is to be considered the day of "application receive" when applying online? In my view it should be the date when you click "Submit" button.

Previously, I think, the caseworkers have used the date of payment of fees as the date they use for checking if you were in the country 5 years ago.

[kautya]

Secret simon just keep it secret plz. The guy is happy and home office have power vested in the case worker to make the decision.

The point I am making is that there is no discretion. I'd rather advise that the OP is aware of any likely issues now and fixes them asap than have issues a few years down the line.

The only other alternative explanations that I have are that the caseworker has likely taken the Sopra Stevia visit on 14th January as the date of submission or effectively as a redeclaration (especially if the submitted documents were dated 14th January). But short of the above two, it is likely that the approval may be incorrect in law. The caseworker can't grant approval in a case where the requirements of the law are not met.

I think an SAR on the Home Office may be in order to see what the caseworker has noted on the file.

Although I agree this is the right thing to do, doubt anyone will be doing this once an approval has been obtained on an application.