Naturalisation Application - 4 + Months, No Response from FNE

[jkswda7]

Hello All,

I was given ILR in 2016 and submitted naturalisation application in October 2023. A straight forward application as since the ILR I have travelled less than 100 days overseas so absences are not a problem. Don't own a car so no parking tickets or penalty notices. Worked and paid taxes on time for the last 7 years .......and here I am as a nervous wreck as to why my naturalisation application is pending after 4 months while other applications submitted in December 2023 and January 2024 have been approved.

Keeping in mind the feedback on this forum I sent a request to FNE after 3 months in Feb first week.. a month has passed since but no response from FNE team. I forward the auto response and previous email to FNE as the 20 working day window passed, no response to date (06.03.2024).

In between I sent another email (new on 15.02.2024) to prompt a response, that has also been ignored and no response received from FNE team so far.

My referees have also confirmed that no one has approached them so far.

I never received a acknowledgement from UKVI after submitting the application. Sopra Steria confirmed that my documents have been submitted.

Can I please ask help from this forum about the next steps / and provide some clarifications:

1. Are referees always approached? If yes, at what stage of application are they contacted ?

2. When is the right time to approach your MP for support ? After 6 months? earlier?

3. In absence of UKVI acknowledgement, is there anyway to confirm if my application was ever received for processing? (Some of the comments in timeline section are about applications that were lost due to an IT glitch).

4. Some of the timelines suggest filing a complaint with Home Office? Is that the right approach considering 6 months have not passed?

5. Who else can I approach for help or for escalating the matter to find out what is happening with my application?

The last couple of months have been an absolute nightmare after other applications submitted In November and December have been approved. I am struggling to cope with the stress and on the verge of a mental breakdown. Any help this forum can provide will be very much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[alterhase58]

Hello All,

I was given ILR in 2016 and submitted naturalisation application in October 2023. A straight forward application as since the ILR I have travelled less than 100 days overseas so absences are not a problem. Don't own a car so no parking tickets or penalty notices. Worked and paid taxes on time for the last 7 years .......and here I am as a nervous wreck as to why my naturalisation application is pending after 4 months while other applications submitted in December 2023 and January 2024 have been approved.
The stated service level target is 6 months, and even that is not guaranteed. UKVI don't provide process updates, unfortunately....
Keeping in mind the feedback on this forum I sent a request to FNE after 3 months in Feb first week.. a month has passed since but no response from FNE team. I forward the auto response and previous email to FNE as the 20 working day window passed, no response to date (06.03.2024).

In between I sent another email (new on 15.02.2024) to prompt a response, that has also been ignored and no response received from FNE team so far.

My referees have also confirmed that no one has approached them so far.

I never received a acknowledgement from UKVI after submitting the application. Sopra Steria confirmed that my documents have been submitted.

Can I please ask help from this forum about the next steps / and provide some clarifications:

1. Are referees always approached? If yes, at what stage of application are they contacted ? No

2. When is the right time to approach your MP for support ? After 6 months? earlier? As above - note MP cannot compel UKVI to speed up, they often get the same email that applicants receive ...

3. In absence of UKVI acknowledgement, is there anyway to confirm if my application was ever received for processing? (Some of the comments in timeline section are about applications that were lost due to an IT glitch). Has your payment gone through?

4. Some of the timelines suggest filing a complaint with Home Office? Is that the right approach considering 6 months have not passed? Up to you, but before 6 months your complaint won't be considered.

5. Who else can I approach for help or for escalating the matter to find out what is happening with my application? It's only UKVI who can give you authoritative updates. Appreciate it's a nervous time waiting most of us have been through it but the approval will come through eventually (about 95% are approved).

The last couple of months have been an absolute nightmare after other applications submitted In November and December have been approved. I am struggling to cope with the stress and on the verge of a mental breakdown. Any help this forum can provide will be very much appreciated. UKVI aren't known for being empathetic!

Thank you in advance.

[jkswda7]

Good Morning @alterhase58

Thank you for the quick response.

Yes, My payment went through on the date of application submission in October 2023. I did receive an acknowledgement from UKVI.

[jkswda7]

Good Morning @aalterhase58

Thank you for the quick response.

Yes, My payment went through on the date of application submission in October 2023. I did receive an acknowledgement from UKVI.

[PM74Juve]

From what I can see in the reported timelines October and some November 2023 applications are the current most likely wave of approvals and so there must be many applications made around this time like yours still awaiting a decision. Seen one or two from December but none beyond that... unfortunately people post timelines that are not complete which you have to scan past. There are outliers including some held up for very long time. I say wait... at least until 6 months since application date and then contact them.

[contorted_svy]

Each application is assessed on their own merit and on different timelines - someone could apply after you and be approved before you, even applications that on the face of it look straightforward or very similar can have very different waiting times. As people have said above you are still within the six months, and chasing/complaining before then would not lead to anything, for now you need to be patient, though I appreciate it is stressful.

If there is an IT issue or if the HO needs more information from you at some point you will be contacted.

After the six months have elapsed here is a list of actions you can pursue british-citizenship/6-months-plus-waiti ... 43483.html

[SupperDog]

They don't normally contact your referee. I never heard about anyone whose referees were contacted by Home Office.

UKVI won't send you any confirmation. Confirmation from Sopra Steria is the only one. If you got that one everything should be fine.

[sech]

You are not alone -

I applied in Oct 11, and considered my case very similar to yours. Skilled worker 5 year +1 year ILR, teaching at university in a business school, do not drive. The only complication I thought I have is I moved from China to HK when I was five...

Feb 26 I received an email from MMST Workflow, suggesting they cant process my application within the 6-month timeframe.

Now we can just wait.

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.
By way of background, naturalisation is not an automatic process, and we have to make a number of enquiries before we can reach a decision on whether to grant citizenship.
The nature and extent of those enquiries, and the length of time taken to complete them, varies according to the particular circumstance of each application.
The progress of outstanding enquiries is regularly monitored with the agencies carrying out these enquiries on our behalf. It is only when we have the results of the enquiries that we can reach a decision on whether citizenship should be granted. We do not, ourselves, carry out these checks and we cannot, therefore, be sure how long they will take in each case.
I appreciate that UKVI website gives the following information in relation to waiting times for naturalisation applications:
"All applications for citizenship are subject to enquiries to ensure that the statutory requirements have been satisfied. Because of these enquires, we anticipate that applications may take up to six months to complete. Some applications may be dealt with more quickly and some may take longer, depending on the nature of the enquiries to be carried out".
As you will note, it is also made clear on the website that, in some cases, these enquiries may take longer than average to complete. You will appreciate the need to be careful and thorough in such matters.
These enquiries are still ongoing in regard to your application, and we are sorry for the delay. As soon as the enquiries outstanding on your application are completed, we will ensure that an immediate decision is taken, and that you will be notified accordingly.