New citizenship form UKF

[Lem0nblast]

Sounds like it to me -- congratulations and thanks for the update! I'm admittedly a bit jealous but happy for ya.

So going by your timeline: Email saying you're a the queue approx. 2mo. after biometrics. Then approval letter mailed after another approx. 2mo.

Thank you! I understand how you feel as i have felt the same a lot of times. This experience has been incredibly humbling and anxiety inducing and toxic to my mental health but the relief is amazing so hang on just a bit more. When i resigned myself that it was beyond my control and started to relax thats when the email came so i am rooting for you and abe89!

Take note that i made a lot of email enquiries as stated in my earlier post but this reply came from the complaint i made on the uk.gov website so it might be worth a try for you. I just made sure i was beyond the 6month mark when i made the complaint for them to avoid ignoring it and yes it was 4months after the email queue to case worker, all in all 7months since online submission.

[abe89]

Aw yayyyyy congrats lemonblast!!!! Elated to report I am sharing a similar feeling of relief, release, and anticipation for the future without any veil of uncertainty as I received my documents/acceptance letter on Friday!

And crclayton praying to the deities…remain steadfast you! And wouldn’t hurt to fill out a complaint if you’ve not already.

My UKF timeline from Canada ~~

Application Submitted - 15 Sept 2021
Received by UKVI - 27 Sept 2021
Invitation to Enrol Biometrics - 21 Oct 2021
Biometric Enrolment - 18 Nov 2021
Email stating my case is still in queue awaiting allocation to a case working team - 10 Jan 2022
Acceptance letter - 25 March (dated 10 March) 2022

!!!!

[crclayton]

Congratulations!! Maybe I'll happen to see you over there at the pub one day

[crclayton]

Hi all, maybe for the last time(!) -- I received my approval letter/documents today, the letter was dated April 3rd. Since application it's been almost 9mo., and the approval letter was sent 9 days after filing a complaint with UKVI -- not sure if that's a coincidence or not.

Timeline below showing overall days/months elapsed and the number of days between each milestone.

Eligibility criteria: UKF (British father and parents not married)
Nationality: Canada
Applying from: USA
Method of application: Online

Milestone	Date	b/w	Days	Months
Application filed	19-Jul-21	0	0	0.0
Email acknowledgement by UKVI	19-Jul-21	0	0	0.0
Documents received by UKVI (by FedEx tracking)	02-Aug-21	+14	14	0.5
Email requesting biometrics/my reply with availability	06-Dec-21	+126	140	4.6
Email re-requesting biometrics/my reply with availability	12-Jan-22	+37	177	5.8
Communication from UKVI with biometrics appointment	19-Jan-22	+7	184	6.0
Biometrics attended	07-Feb-22	+19	203	6.7
Approval letter	03-Apr-22	+55	258	8.5
Documents returned	14-Apr-22	+11	269	8.8
Invitation to ceremony	TBD
Ceremony	TBD

For those interested, the contents of the approval letter is as follows:

Thank you for submitting the enclosed documents in support of your application for British citizenship. All the information has been noted and we will not need to see them again.

I am pleased to say that the application has been successful and you will shortly receive a letter inviting you to attend a citizenship ceremony. When you attend a ceremony you will be presented with a certificate of British citizenship.

...

If you have not received your invitation within the next 12 weeks, you should email us at citizenship.support@homeofifce.gov.uk.

Good luck to all!

[Mikemoles]

Application from Philippines
Eligibility: British Father but Mother was married to someone else before they got married.

Online application submitted: Dec 31, 2021
Biometrics email: January 20, 2022
Biometrics taken: January 25, 2022
Email that application is in que for case working team: March 15, 2022


(Sigh).. everyday that passes is like torture. Good thing I am reading positive developments to some of you guys here. Best of luck to all of us!

[Lem0nblast]

Congratulations to everyone!! It was a long time coming.
To mikemoles, your case is pretty tricky. I would consider getting advice from a solicitor for cases that are not straightforward. But keep on it if this is what your heart desires. I have just had a virtual ceremony by the british embassy in manila last may 10 and it was the best 10minutes yet. Best of luck to you!

[Mikemoles]

Congrats Man!


Oh about my case. I was worried at first, but reading through the UK.gov made me decide to apply via this route. The site says:

“You can apply for registration if you meet all the requirements below:

you would have become a British citizen automatically if your mother had not been married to someone other than your natural (biological) father
you have never been a British citizen”


Got the rest of the paternity proof covered as he is names in my BC.

Just gonna have to wait for my turn. Hope it wint be that long!

[Mikemoles]

Congrats Man!

[Mikemoles]

Application from Philippines
Eligibility: British Father but Mother was married to someone else before they got married.

Online application submitted: Dec 31, 2021
Biometrics email: January 20, 2022
Biometrics taken: January 25, 2022
Email that application is in que for case working team: March 15, 2022
Email of approval: May 25, 2022 (stating application got approved on May 19,2022)


Thank you so much for this forum! Also for @CR001. I saw your advice to some debra in the past that led me to this route! Gob bless man!

[Mikemoles]

Congratulations to everyone!! It was a long time coming.
To mikemoles, your case is pretty tricky. I would consider getting advice from a solicitor for cases that are not straightforward. But keep on it if this is what your heart desires. I have just had a virtual ceremony by the british embassy in manila last may 10 and it was the best 10minutes yet. Best of luck to you!

@Lm0nblast

Just a question man, how did you get your ceremony invite?

[crclayton]

Not @Lem0nblast, but I'm still waiting on my ceremony invite now over 12 weeks since the approval letter. I just sent a message with the following contents:

In the approval letter for my UKF application, dated April 3rd 2022, it states:

"If you have not received your invitation within the next 12 weeks, you should email us at Citizenship.Support@homeoffice.gov.uk".

It has now been 12 weeks so I'm following up to determine when the earliest I'll be able to attend the ceremony will be. Thank you for your help.

I'll update with any reply/progress.

[Lem0nblast]

Congratulations to everyone!! It was a long time coming.
To mikemoles, your case is pretty tricky. I would consider getting advice from a solicitor for cases that are not straightforward. But keep on it if this is what your heart desires. I have just had a virtual ceremony by the british embassy in manila last may 10 and it was the best 10minutes yet. Best of luck to you!

@Lm0nblast

Just a question man, how did you get your ceremony invite?

Best news! So glad to read. Fairly quick too.
As for the invite, the embassy will email you when they have your certificate. It takes a while for diplomatic mail to arrive as they’ve told me. My approval was march and ceremony was May so could take a few weeks for you. Ceremony is done online so once booked it doesnt take long.
After my ceremony, I have applied for certificate of entitlement to right of abode and was approved in 2weeks, much faster than a passport outside uk so maybe look into that while waiting.
Im off to see my family in the uk by the end of this month. Very happy and excited. Cheers!

[Lem0nblast]

Not @Lem0nblast, but I'm still waiting on my ceremony invite now over 12 weeks since the approval letter. I just sent a message with the following contents:

In the approval letter for my UKF application, dated April 3rd 2022, it states:

"If you have not received your invitation within the next 12 weeks, you should email us at Citizenship.Support@homeoffice.gov.uk".

It has now been 12 weeks so I'm following up to determine when the earliest I'll be able to attend the ceremony will be. Thank you for your help.

I'll update with any reply/progress.

You’ll hear back soon my friend, we’ve made it this far.

[Bmc23]

My timeline for Brit citizenship application using form UKF.
Finally the long wait is over and it was worth it.

6th Sep 2022 - Online submission
9th Sep 2022- Supporting Documents Delivered
17th Sep 2022 - Invitation for biometrics
19th Sep 2022- Biometric enrollment done
14th Nov 2022 - Further documents requested
23rd Nov 2022 - Documents submitted by e-mail
30 Nov 2022 - Date on Approval letter
22 Dec 2022 - Supporting documents and approval letter received by post.
24th January 2023 - Ceremony invitation
30th January 2023 - Citizenship ceremony date

[nyremil]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this site and hope to get advice on my UKF application.

For a bit of background, I was born in China in 1996 to a Chinese mother and a British father and was never married. I meet all the eligibility criteria for UKF. But the problem is, since I was born in a rural part of China, my birth cert was issued more than 12 mores after my birth (in 2003), which makes my proof of paternity invalid since it requires the birth cert to be issued within 12 months of birth. In 2003, I was brought to Malaysia to learn English by my father with the intention of bringing me to the UK within a year; that didn't happen because my parents had a fallout and eventually broke off. I lived with my father's friend in Malaysia and was basically estranged from both my parents, my father's friend has been my legal guardian since 2003.

The only supporting document I have to prove my connection with my father is my birth cert, school enrolment records and family photos from nearly 20 years ago.

My father obtained his British citizenship when he served under the crown some odd 40-50 years ago, so I'm not applying for double descent. But I also don't have any proof of how he obtained his citizenship as he was not cooperative; he had only provided me with a photo of his latest (expired) passport, which I had also included in my supporting documents.

I submitted my application in August 2022, and my father passed away in April 2023.

Here's the timeline so far:
16/08/2022 : Submitted Online Application
29/08/2022 : Mailed supporting documents (including all passports) to UK
02/09/2022 : Supporting documents arrived at UK
04/09/2022 : Received email for biometrics
18/10/2022 : Biometrics completed
07/03/2023 : Received email for additional information (further proof of paternity)
09/03/2023 : Responded to the email by stating the school records that were delivered. Attached additional family photo in my email
05/04/2023 : Received identical email from 07/03/2023
10/04/2023 : Responded to the email in a similar fashion as per my previous reply
26/07/2023 : Received email to confirm the address for the return of my documents & replied the same day.

After a lot of contemplation, I recognise that my case may be a special one. And I'd love to have some advice on the success rate of my application as it's been almost a year since my submission. Also, if there's anything I can do to further strengthen my application. In the meantime, I'll try to keep my application status updated here and hope for the best news! Thank you very much in advance.

[ashsilvv]

Hello all, thank you for your insight - lurking on this forum has been very helpful for my UKF application.

I'm in an unusual position because I was born in the UK as a stateless person, who has never had a passport or left the UK (and thus is unable to send a passport/travel documents along with my application). But after seeing a couple of people in the same positions as me have their applications approved despite not having a passport, I'm hopeful it will turn out okay. I meet all the other requirements necessary.

Also, I'm doing registration instead of naturalisation because I'm broke, lmao. Here is my timeline so far- I will update when I hear back

02/11/2023 - application submitted online
02/11/2023 - email confirmation received
03/11/2023 - all documents submitted online
29/11/2023 - booked date for biometric enrolment
???? - approval email
???? - invitation for ceremony
???? - ceremony

[alterhase58]

Hello all, thank you for your insight - lurking on this forum has been very helpful for my UKF application.

I'm in an unusual position because I was born in the UK as a stateless person, who has never had a passport or left the UK (and thus is unable to send a passport/travel documents along with my application). But after seeing a couple of people in the same positions as me have their applications approved despite not having a passport, I'm hopeful it will turn out okay. I meet all the other requirements necessary.

Also, I'm doing registration instead of naturalisation because I'm broke, lmao. Here is my timeline so far- I will update when I hear back

02/11/2023 - application submitted online
02/11/2023 - email confirmation received
03/11/2023 - all documents submitted online
29/11/2023 - booked date for biometric enrolment
???? - approval email
???? - invitation for ceremony
???? - ceremony

Note it is not an absolute (legal?) requirement for passport applicants to hold a foreign passport, the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen. You can't provide what you haven't got.

[ashsilvv]

Hello all, thank you for your insight - lurking on this forum has been very helpful for my UKF application.

I'm in an unusual position because I was born in the UK as a stateless person, who has never had a passport or left the UK (and thus is unable to send a passport/travel documents along with my application). But after seeing a couple of people in the same positions as me have their applications approved despite not having a passport, I'm hopeful it will turn out okay. I meet all the other requirements necessary.

Also, I'm doing registration instead of naturalisation because I'm broke, lmao. Here is my timeline so far- I will update when I hear back

02/11/2023 - application submitted online
02/11/2023 - email confirmation received
03/11/2023 - all documents submitted online
29/11/2023 - booked date for biometric enrolment
???? - approval email
???? - invitation for ceremony
???? - ceremony

Note it is not an absolute (legal?) requirement for passport applicants to hold a foreign passport, the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen. You can't provide what you haven't got.

Thanks, I appreciate that I submitted a cover letter as well explaining my situation, so hopefully all goes smoothly.
I'm not sure what you mean though about "the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen"?

[alterhase58]

Hello all, thank you for your insight - lurking on this forum has been very helpful for my UKF application.

I'm in an unusual position because I was born in the UK as a stateless person, who has never had a passport or left the UK (and thus is unable to send a passport/travel documents along with my application). But after seeing a couple of people in the same positions as me have their applications approved despite not having a passport, I'm hopeful it will turn out okay. I meet all the other requirements necessary.

Also, I'm doing registration instead of naturalisation because I'm broke, lmao. Here is my timeline so far- I will update when I hear back

02/11/2023 - application submitted online
02/11/2023 - email confirmation received
03/11/2023 - all documents submitted online
29/11/2023 - booked date for biometric enrolment
???? - approval email
???? - invitation for ceremony
???? - ceremony

Note it is not an absolute (legal?) requirement for passport applicants to hold a foreign passport, the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen. You can't provide what you haven't got.

Thanks, I appreciate that I submitted a cover letter as well explaining my situation, so hopefully all goes smoothly.
I'm not sure what you mean though about "the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen"?

You have to be a British citizen to qualify for a British passport.

[ashsilvv]

Hello all, thank you for your insight - lurking on this forum has been very helpful for my UKF application.

I'm in an unusual position because I was born in the UK as a stateless person, who has never had a passport or left the UK (and thus is unable to send a passport/travel documents along with my application). But after seeing a couple of people in the same positions as me have their applications approved despite not having a passport, I'm hopeful it will turn out okay. I meet all the other requirements necessary.

Also, I'm doing registration instead of naturalisation because I'm broke, lmao. Here is my timeline so far- I will update when I hear back

02/11/2023 - application submitted online
02/11/2023 - email confirmation received
03/11/2023 - all documents submitted online
29/11/2023 - booked date for biometric enrolment
???? - approval email
???? - invitation for ceremony
???? - ceremony

Note it is not an absolute (legal?) requirement for passport applicants to hold a foreign passport, the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen. You can't provide what you haven't got.

Thanks, I appreciate that I submitted a cover letter as well explaining my situation, so hopefully all goes smoothly.
I'm not sure what you mean though about "the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen"?

You have to be a British citizen to qualify for a British passport.

Oh, I see what you mean. I'm actually applying for citizenship via form UKF, not a passport (although I will do that eventually).

[CR001]

Hello all, thank you for your insight - lurking on this forum has been very helpful for my UKF application.

I'm in an unusual position because I was born in the UK as a stateless person, who has never had a passport or left the UK (and thus is unable to send a passport/travel documents along with my application). But after seeing a couple of people in the same positions as me have their applications approved despite not having a passport, I'm hopeful it will turn out okay. I meet all the other requirements necessary.

Also, I'm doing registration instead of naturalisation because I'm broke, lmao. Here is my timeline so far- I will update when I hear back

02/11/2023 - application submitted online
02/11/2023 - email confirmation received
03/11/2023 - all documents submitted online
29/11/2023 - booked date for biometric enrolment
???? - approval email
???? - invitation for ceremony
???? - ceremony

Note it is not an absolute (legal?) requirement for passport applicants to hold a foreign passport, the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen. You can't provide what you haven't got.

Thanks, I appreciate that I submitted a cover letter as well explaining my situation, so hopefully all goes smoothly.
I'm not sure what you mean though about "the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen"?

You have to be a British citizen to qualify for a British passport.

Oh, I see what you mean. I'm actually applying for citizenship via form UKF, not a passport (although I will do that eventually).

Presumably your father was British and not married to your mother and your father is named on your birth certificate? And your mother wasn't married to anyone else at the time of your birth?

[ashsilvv]

Hello all, thank you for your insight - lurking on this forum has been very helpful for my UKF application.

I'm in an unusual position because I was born in the UK as a stateless person, who has never had a passport or left the UK (and thus is unable to send a passport/travel documents along with my application). But after seeing a couple of people in the same positions as me have their applications approved despite not having a passport, I'm hopeful it will turn out okay. I meet all the other requirements necessary.

Also, I'm doing registration instead of naturalisation because I'm broke, lmao. Here is my timeline so far- I will update when I hear back

02/11/2023 - application submitted online
02/11/2023 - email confirmation received
03/11/2023 - all documents submitted online
29/11/2023 - booked date for biometric enrolment
???? - approval email
???? - invitation for ceremony
???? - ceremony

Note it is not an absolute (legal?) requirement for passport applicants to hold a foreign passport, the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen. You can't provide what you haven't got.

Thanks, I appreciate that I submitted a cover letter as well explaining my situation, so hopefully all goes smoothly.
I'm not sure what you mean though about "the main requirement is you have to be a British citizen"?

You have to be a British citizen to qualify for a British passport.

Oh, I see what you mean. I'm actually applying for citizenship via form UKF, not a passport (although I will do that eventually).

Presumably your father was British and not married to your mother and your father is named on your birth certificate? And your mother wasn't married to anyone else at the time of your birth?

Yes, that's right.

[meyer_cancan]

Hi all,

Here is my UKF application timeline.

March 15th, 2023: Submitted my online application.

March 17th, 2023: Sent my documents via mail to UKVI. The documents I submitted were: my birth certificate, my father's birth certificate, a court order where my father is recognized as my father, two references, and a notarized color copy of the photo page of my passport.

A few notes about my documents: 1) the UKF guidelines dictate that your birth certificate must be issued within one year of your birth. My birth certificate was signed and accepted for registration within 1 month of my birth, but I have a copy issued Feb 06, 2023. Because of this, I also submitted a court document from 2007 that recognizes my father's relationship to me. 2) I did not know two British referees, so I used two American working professionals. 3) The UKF instructions are very explicit that you must submit your original passport. However, I travel internationally frequently and read a few success stories of individuals who submitted photocopies of their passports. I submitted a notarized copy of only the photo page of my passport (NOT every page).

March 27th, 2023: I received a request for my availability to perform my biometric enrolment. This same day I sent back my preferred UCSIS office and my availability.

March 29th, 2023: I received my biometric appointment date and time.

April 11th, 2023: My biometric enrollment appointment date. This is slightly unrelated but I had a terrible experience at the UCSIS office. The man who was taking my fingerprints insisted that I had brought the wrong documents (UVKI sent me only two pages, both of which I printed and brought with me). After scanning the pages UKVI sent over and realizing that the documents I brought were valid, he proceeded to very roughly handle my fingers and tightly squeeze my hands. He also stood directly over my shoulder as I filled out a survey of my experience. I did not feel like I had the ability to say something and risk jeopardizing my application.

September 5th, 2023: UKVI sent over a request for clarification on if my parents have ever been married. I replied that they had never been married.

September 18th, 2023: I received my documents in the mail and a letter of approval! Yay!

November 28th, 2023: I received an invite to a citizenship ceremony on December 7th. I couldn't make this date, so I replied to the consulate saying this. They replied right away and scheduled me for an individual ceremony on the 21st.

December 21st, 2023: Completed the citizenship ceremony! It was very quick, only around 20 minutes total. I immediately sent in my passport application, and mailed my supporting documents. I included a color photo copy of each of the pages of my US passport in place to the actual passport.

2nd January, 2024: Documents received by HMPO

4th January, 2024: Passport application approved

5th January, 2024: Passport printed

12th January, 2024: I received my new passport (in New England). Overall I was quite happy with the speed of the passport application given how long the UKF application took.

I began this process on March 15th, 2023 so a total of 303 days from UKF application to having a UK passport in hand. Hope this helps!

[ashsilvv]

Hi all! I just want to quickly post my experience here in case anyone in the future is in the same position as me. I was born in England to an unmarried foreign mother and British father, never had a passport, never left the UK, and never had any nationality (stateless).

I was very worried about rejection when submitting my UKF application since the guidance states that a passport is required, and I've never had one. Nonetheless, my application was approved and it all went smoothly! All I did was add a cover letter explaining my situation and why I was unable to enclose one. Here is my timeline:

Biometrics appointment: 02/12/2023
Approval email from local council: 23/02/2024

Good luck to all you stateless people - it's tough out there!

[Imjw46y]

Hi
Has anyone recently used sibling DNA test to prove paternity for this application? Did HO request any additional information and did you get a response within 6 months?
Thanks