British citizenship - no response after 6 months

[linhngo2912]

I applied for my British citizenship on 1/9/22, a year after my ILR (10y route) was granted. However it has now been over 6 months but I still haven't received any response from the HO. On 1/3/23, which is exact 6 months from my application date, I received this email from the HO:

"We aim to process all applications within 6 months from the date submitted. However, in certain circumstances this target is not possible. Following our assessment of your case, unfortunately it appears your application will not be processed within the 6 month target.

We are sorry for the delay in dealing with this application which has been caused by an IT issue. We have reported the issue, will ensure it is resolved as soon as possible and will expedite completion of your application when it is resolved. Unfortunately, I cannot provide a specific time scale for completion at this time.

Yours sincerely,
Passports, Citizenship & Civil Registration"

I got a friend who applied a week before me and received a response only 2 months after the application date. I do not understand why my application takes so long to process as it's a very normal application with no special circumstance at all. Anyone is in the same situation? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Linh

[meself2]

It's not up to us to decide whether or not the application is normal or not.
They tend to send similar emails at 6 month mark, as they promise to deliver their service throughout this time, so they just made you aware it'll take longer.
All you could do now is wait, unless you wish to escalate it by lodging a compliant/taking to MP/etc.

[shuaibkhan]

Almost in similar circumstances. 6th month begins today and no response. I am thinking of figuring out how to reach out to MP to be ready as soon as I hit the end of 6th month mark.

[Mitonman2022]

I’ve been waiting for 14 months now and I’ve read some other people’s stories who had to wait at least 2 years.

You can do following things;

1: Escalate through MP
2: Lodge a complaint through GOV website.
3: Email furthernationality team inbox.
4: Make a subject access request to check whether delay was reasonable or not, I’ve read on some forums that making such request expedited application decision.