Naturalisation application - a couple of questions

[cherylcas]

Hi,

I am going to be submitting a new application for british citizenship for my husband and I quite soon.
We both came here on ancestry visa and got ILR Nov 2018.

I would like to know with regards to the referees, does the professional referee have to live in the UK? I know they don't have to be British but can they live in another country? I only know a lawyer in South Africa.

And then secondly, my South African passport has expired and I havent bothered to get a new one because I knew we were going to be applying for citizenship soon and it takes forever to get a new one. Is it going to be a problem if my passport is expired?

Thank you in advance for help with these questions.

Cheryl

[CR001]

does the professional referee have to live in the UK? I know they don't have to be British but can they live in another country? I only know a lawyer in South Africa.

Should be fine. Your professional referee can be of any nationality and can be a manager/director at work too. The list is quite extensive of who you could use.

And then secondly, my South African passport has expired and I havent bothered to get a new one because I knew we were going to be applying for citizenship soon and it takes forever to get a new one. Is it going to be a problem if my passport is expired?

No. You will likely have to provide evidence that you have been resident in the UK since it expired.

[cherylcas]

Hi CR001,

Thanks for the reply.

Can you point me in the direction of the full list of professionals that are allowed to be referees?

What kind of evidence can I supply to show I have been resident in the UK since my passport expired?

And where on the application will I need to include this information?

Cheryl

[CR001]

Can you point me in the direction of the full list of professionals that are allowed to be referees?

Page 24 in link below.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 1.0EXT.pdf

What kind of evidence can I supply to show I have been resident in the UK since my passport expired?

P60's, Payslips, Council Tax etc.

And where on the application will I need to include this information?

The evidence of residence?? Simply upload it with the rest of your documents.

[cherylcas]

OK, thank you very much.

Just one more question for now, I had a baby June 2018 but we were only granted ILR in Oct 2018.

How do I apply for citizenship for my baby? Is it MN1 form?

[CR001]

OK, thank you very much.

Just one more question for now, I had a baby June 2018 but we were only granted ILR in Oct 2018.

How do I apply for citizenship for my baby? Is it MN1 form?

Yes. You could have applied for the child as soon as you got ILR if the child is UK born. Not sure if the child also has ILR, but this would not have been required either.

[cherylcas]

Thank you again.

I had a look at the list of professional persons that can be referees.

Could you tell me what Manager or Personnel Officer means? Is it any Manager working for a limited company?

What proof do they have to provide to show they are a Manager?

Cheryl

[CR001]

Could you tell me what Manager or Personnel Officer means? Is it any Manager working for a limited company?

Yes, any company.

What proof do they have to provide to show they are a Manager?

None.

[cherylcas]

Oh perfect, thats easy then.

I am just looking through the supporting documents section.

For Section 5 it asks for evidence of Freedom from immigration time restrictions. What does this mean?

And for Section 10 it asks for evidence of National Insurance contributions covering the relevant period.
Is that just for the year between when we got ILR and now? Or is that for all 6 years that we have been living in the UK?

Thanks in advance.

[CR001]

For Section 5 it asks for evidence of Freedom from immigration time restrictions. What does this mean?

Your ILR BRP Card.

And for Section 10 it asks for evidence of National Insurance contributions covering the relevant period.
Is that just for the year between when we got ILR and now? Or is that for all 6 years that we have been living in the UK?

Only required if you are self employed. Otherwise simply give your NI number in the form where asked.

[cherylcas]

Oh fantastic, thats make things a lot easier. Thank you very much for all your help.

[cherylcas]

Hi,

I just looked online and it looks like the nationality checking service isn't available anymore, is this correct?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... g-services

If it isnt available anymore, do we have to apply online?

If we apply online then do we have to apply for a passport separately now?

And I also saw that the government might be putting the application fee down for naturalisation of children, do you know how long it will be until they decide on this?

Thank you in advance.

Cheryl

[CR001]

I just looked online and it looks like the nationality checking service isn't available anymore, is this correct?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... g-services

Correct. The service was discontinued in November 2018.

If it isnt available anymore, do we have to apply online?

Yes. You then make an appointment at ukcvas for identity check and biometrics. All your supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded before your biometric appointment.

If we apply online then do we have to apply for a passport separately now?

Yes. You will only be able to apply for a British passport once you are British and have attended your ceremony.

And I also saw that the government might be putting the application fee down for naturalisation of children, do you know how long it will be until they decide on this?

Children are registered not naturalised. Ho is likely appealing the judgment so no one can say how long if and when a reduction in fee will be put in place.

[cherylcas]

Oh and one more question, if my husband and I are applying separately, can we use the same person as one of our referees?

Cheryl

[CR001]

Oh and one more question, if my husband and I are applying separately, can we use the same person as one of our referees?

Cheryl

Yes, provided they are not related to either of you (by blood or marriage) and are not related to each other.

[cherylcas]

Sorry, one more question, should I still send my passport with my application, even though its expired?

Cheryl

[CR001]

Sorry, one more question, should I still send my passport with my application, even though its expired?

Cheryl

Passport is mandatory to submit. No originals are sent anymore. Everything is uploaded, including your passport, biometric page and all stamped pages, in addition to evidence of residence since your passport expired.

Can you point me in the direction of the full list of professionals that are allowed to be referees?

Page 24 in link below.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 1.0EXT.pdf

What kind of evidence can I supply to show I have been resident in the UK since my passport expired?

P60's, Payslips, Council Tax etc.

And where on the application will I need to include this information?

The evidence of residence?? Simply upload it with the rest of your documents.

[cherylcas]

HI,

Thank you for all your advice so far.

I am busy trying to fill the form in online and I am not sure what to fill in for my passport.

At the moment, I have chosen that I don't have a valid passport (reason "Other") and then filled in "Passport expired" as the reason.

Then it asks: "Are you able to provide details of your passport using a copy of the information? (Required)".
I picked yes for this but then when I try to fill in the information of my expired passport its saying that the expiry date has to be in the future.

What should I do for this? Just say I don't have the information for the passport and then include the expired one anyway?

Cheryl

[cherylcas]

Oh never mind. I see that it asks for the information from your expired passport after that question.

[cherylcas]

Hi,

We were just about to apply for citizenship and then I was made redundant at work and then coronavirus happened.
If I want to apply now while I am unemployed how does that change things?
I have started working for myself while at home during coronavirus and made a little bit of money and I have applied for universal credit too.

Is this going to make things difficult?

[CR001]

Employment is not mandatory to apply for it qualify for citizenship.

[cherylcas]

What extra information do I need to supply if I started working self employed?

Just for the last 2 months I have been bringing in a small income from working online.

[alterhase58]

What extra information do I need to supply if I started working self employed?

Just for the last 2 months I have been bringing in a small income from working online.

Just declare it as such - normally you would provide your HMRC self-assessment statement, but clearly you are not at this stage yet.