TIMELINE AFTER NATURALISATION APPLICATION SUBMISSION

[alina76]

Thanks very much Racingfire...the letter is being delivered through Secure Mail service which is a private courier company.
Cheers

Congratulations.
approval letters and even invitation letters never come through secure mail. I am not sure if HO has changed their practice because of royal mail strikes.

[keshgrover]

Thanks very much Racingfire...the letter is being delivered through Secure Mail service which is a private courier company.
Cheers

Congratulations.
approval letters and even invitation letters never come through secure mail. I am not sure if HO has changed their practice because of royal mail strikes.

They might have.

[taliska]

Folks...I finally have some good news to share with you...my application was approved !!! )))))...I'm soooooooo very happy. God bless the queen and the HO.

I have to say that the people I've been speaking to at the home office have been absolute gems and extremely helpful.

Called up the HO late yesterday evening to ask if the "decision letter" had been mailed to me (they told me on Tuesday that a decision had been made but for data protection reasons they couldn't disclose the contents on the phone). The woman at the other end of the line yesterday was very nice and said that she had good news for me and that my application had been approved and the letter(s) sent to me by secure mail yesterday. She even tried to find a tracking reference for me to call up the courier company.

I'll wait for my letter now and then arrange a private ceremony ASAP so that I can get my passport well before christmas.

A couple of questions from my side-

1) I know people on this forum have been posting passport application timelines in addition to naturalization applications but on average how long would you say it takes to apply and get the British passport??

2) is there a separate thread that tracks only passport application timelines?

I also want to thank everyone on this forum for their support, encouragement and advice...and to all those who are still waiting...hang in there buddies you will get the approval soon. I will ofcourse still be posting on this forum and am happy to answer any questions people have.

Cheers

Sidster007

NCS or Postal: NCS
If NCS, which: Westminster, London
Date of submission of application: October 8, 2009
Date application received by H/O: October 9, 2009
CRITERIA: 6 yr stay (5 yr work permit and HSMP + 1 yr ILR )
Date of Payment : October 14, 2009 (although my credit card account wasn't debited until October 17th)
Date of receipt of acknowledgment: October 17, 2009 (letter dated 14th October)
Date of Approval: 27th October (according to HO the approval and invitation letter was sent to me by secure mail yesterday , 30th October and so should be with me soon)
Date of citizenship ceremony: Pending
Date of Passport application: Pending
Date of Passport interview: Pending
Date of return of application documents: Pending
Date of receipt of passport: Pending

Well congratulations sidster007. The passport application time as stated by the IPS is 6weeks max. a lot of people get it within 3 it would seem, no need to panic though cause once your application is completed properly and you send your ID stuff and Citizenship certificate and all else they ask for..YOU CANNOT BE REFUSED CAUSE YOU WILL BE A BRITISH CITIZEN congrats

[sidster007]

Thanks very much Racingfire...the letter is being delivered through Secure Mail service which is a private courier company.
Cheers

Thanks a lot Racingfire..I really hope your approval comes through next week..hang in there I'm sure its good news as I haven't really read about anyone's application being refused on this forum.

Also try calling the HO by Wednesday late evening if you don't hear from them by then.

Cheers
Sidster007

[sidster007]

Congrats sid that exellent news :) regarding passport i did my own checks and i can confirm the speed if you registred to vote and have credit history basicaly will be speedy passport if not will take longer and ips will ask for further ducaments to confirm your id. hopefully racingfire and all others is comming with good news this week .

Thanks very much Racingfire...the letter is being delivered through Secure Mail service which is a private courier company.
Cheers

Thanks Bechir...enjoy your ceremony tomorrow mate.

[sidster007]

Sid, Congratulations mate. Well done. I am really happy for you. For passport application, it actully varies from case to case. However, if you are registered on electoral roll and all your bank documents do come to you on the same address which you are going to declare on passport application then it should not take longer. There is another tip : If IPS gives you a longer date for interview you can ask them to transfer your case to another office which may have early dates. Just ring them as soon as they recieve your application. Another tip : get your form filled now and get refference ready. And the day you will have your Citizenship ceremony just enter the certificate number on and post it by check and send. Alternatively you can hand in your application at Elephant and Castle office personaly. That will save you time for the post.

It will save you a lot time. Hope it helps. If you may have any query do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks very much for the good wishes and tips Kesh. Very useful indeed.
Regarding the passport application-

1) Would I have to wait for an acknowledgement letter or the return of my supporting documentation from the IPS (which might have a reference number) before calling them to arrange an interview or would you recommend calling them as soon as they receive my application??

2) A lot of people on this forum have used the check and send method, would you recommend this over a personal application at the passport office? is it really quicker if I apply in person?

Cheers

Sidster007

[racingfire]

Thanks a lot Sid and bechir for your support. I really appreciate it. I hope so this week i will get some good news, if not then i will call HO again. As soon as i will get good news i will share it with all of you.

Sid, regarding your passport application, as far as i know your reference number will be the same number on top of your passport application form, which you can use to check online the current status of your application, after submitting your appplication, you will receive your docs back in one week, and then you can book your interview date with them. If they don,t have an early date then you can ask them to transfer your application to any office which has the most early date availbale.

First time passport applications cannot be submit directly to thier office, and if they will accept it and that will be without check and send service. I called IPS office and spoke to one advisor, she told me that we always recommend to submit your application by post office check and send service, because that is more quick and no chances of any mistakes, which will save your time rather then submitting by yourself.

Best of luck and hope so you letter will be with you tommorrow.

Thanks very much Racingfire...the letter is being delivered through Secure Mail service which is a private courier company.
Cheers

Thanks a lot Racingfire..I really hope your approval comes through next week..hang in there I'm sure its good news as I haven't really read about anyone's application being refused on this forum.

Also try calling the HO by Wednesday late evening if you don't hear from them by then.

Cheers
Sidster007

[incognito]

Guys i have good news. I got my approval letter today. Will post the details shortly

[sidster007]

Congrats Incognito ...well done mate ! how did you receive the letter (Royal Mail/Courier company)?? mine still hasn't arrived yet.

Cheers

Sid

[incognito]

Hi Sid, it came via 2nd class mail. Im sure your is on its way so dont worry too much.

[bechir]

Congrats Incognito exellent news, just came back from ceremony it was realy enjoyed as of today iam british citizen

Guys i have good news. I got my approval letter today. Will post the details shortly

[sra2009]

NCS or Postal : Postal
Date of submission or posting : 14/10/09
CRITERIA - 5 Year stay on HSMP (JR) + 1 Yr ILR ( Me + Wife and 1 child Mn1)
Date of debit of debit/credit card : DEBIT 17/10/09
Date of receipt of acknowledgement : 20/10/09 (DATED 17/10/09)
Date of receipt of approval : Pending
Date of Ceremony : Pending
Date of appln. for passport :
Method used :
Date of Receipt :


Sid/Racingfire and all others

Can you please confirm if letter comes along with original Docs or they are returned separately? I called HO on friday and i was told letter has been sent out .I called again this morning to find out about my documents and i was told documents were sent today and decission has not been made. Is this normal for HO to return documents before decission is made ?

[incognito]

NCS or Postal: NCS
Date of submission or posting: 09/10/2009( A Friday)
CRITERIA: married to BC
Date of receipt of Application @ HO: 13/10/2009
Date of debit of debit/credit card: 14/10/2009
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 20/10/2009 (dated 15/10/2009)
Date of receipt of approval: 02/11/2009 (dated 26/10/2009)
Date of Ceremony: Booked for Thurs 05/11/2009
Date of appln. for passport:Pending
Interview for Passport :Pending
Passport received: Pending

[incognito]

Thanks Bechir. Im really excited about it Plus i was lucky to get a ceremony for thursday.

sra2009 i think they sometimes return your documents without having made a decision yet. Im not too sure about that as i made my application via ncs

[tango_orange]

NCS or Postal: NCS
Date of submission or posting: 09/10/2009( A Friday)
CRITERIA: married to BC
Date of receipt of Application @ HO: 13/10/2009
Date of debit of debit/credit card: 14/10/2009
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 20/10/2009 (dated 15/10/2009)
Date of receipt of approval: 02/11/2009
Date of Ceremony: Booked for Thurs 05/11/2009
Date of appln. for passport:Pending
Interview for Passport :Pending
Passport received: Pending

Congratulations... i applied on 30th September still waiting

[tango_orange]

NCS or Postal: NCS
Date of submission or posting: 30th Sep 2009
CRITERIA - HSMP JR (5 yrs) -
Date payment taken: 5th Sept 2009
Date of receipt of acknowledgment: 10th Sept2009
Date of receipt of approval and invitation: Pending

Still waiting for the approval letter, i sent my own special deliver envelope in it thinking that will speed up my process but no luck by now...

[tango_orange]

i just called HO and they said letter has been posted today however they are not sure if they used my special delivery envelope or their own method of sending it. Does any one know how much time does it take once it is dispatched.

[jas]

Just checked my mail box and there was my approval letter.. A relief.. :D

NCS or Postal: NCS
Date of submission or posting: 30/09/2009
CRITERIA: 5 yr WP + ILR
Date of receipt of Application @ HO: 1/10/2009
Date of debit of debit/credit card: 5/10/2009
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 8/10/2009 (dated 5/10/2009)
Date of receipt of approval: 2/11/2009 (dated 27/10/2009)
Date of Ceremony: Pending
Date of appln. for passport:Pending
Interview for Passport :Pending
Passport received: Pending

Good luck to all who are waiting and hope you get the approval soon..

[racingfire]

Congrats..... Incognito, its really a good news, hope so 2 more days and then you will be a british citizen.

Congrats to you bechir as well, you are nearly there to end of your journey, few more weeks and you will have you britsih passport with you. Have you applied your passort today? I am sure you will go with check and send service, whenever you will submit your application pay another 3 pounds for secure mail, so you will receive your passport and documents quickly without effetcting these postal strikes.I am still waiting for my response hope so a good news this week.

Congrats Incognito exellent news, just came back from ceremony it was realy enjoyed as of today iam british citizen

Guys i have good news. I got my approval letter today. Will post the details shortly

[racingfire]

Hi sra2009,

As far as i know i have read on this forum that sometime they sent a letter before the documents, it really depends, might be you will receive both of them together. but i did not understand one thing , HO said to you that letter has been sent to you on friday , so why they said today that decision has not been made yet.

Sid/Racingfire and all others

Can you please confirm if letter comes along with original Docs or they are returned separately? I called HO on friday and i was told letter has been sent out .I called again this morning to find out about my documents and i was told documents were sent today and decission has not been made. Is this normal for HO to return documents before decission is made ?

[bechir]

thank you rancingfire , iam watching and refreshing this forum and each time i see your post iam thinking the good news has come , but my finger crossed for your phone call on wednesday ev. i realy wish you all the luck that come this week , i did not apply for passport yet as i already booked for 25nov going away plus iam not in the voting list wich will take longer for them to confirm the id and iam sure there will ask for more ducaments as per the forum so iam going to applay when i back from holiday on the 9 dec.

Congrats..... Incognito, its really a good news, hope so 2 more days and then you will be a british citizen.

Congrats to you bechir as well, you are nearly there to end of your journey, few more weeks and you will have you britsih passport with you. Have you applied your passort today? I am sure you will go with check and send service, whenever you will submit your application pay another 3 pounds for secure mail, so you will receive your passport and documents quickly without effetcting these postal strikes.I am still waiting for my response hope so a good news this week.

Congrats Incognito exellent news, just came back from ceremony it was realy enjoyed as of today iam british citizen

Guys i have good news. I got my approval letter today. Will post the details shortly

[racingfire]

Thanks bechir, hope so something will be good in this week, i am the only last old submitted one left on this forum, who did not get any response yet. I applied on 3/09/09 and tommorrow will be exactly 2 months since i applied. so lets see in this week.

thank you rancingfire , iam watching and refreshing this forum and each time i see your post iam thinking the good news has come , but my finger crossed for your phone call on wednesday ev. i realy wish you all the luck that come this week , i did not apply for passport yet as i already booked for 25nov going away plus iam not in the voting list wich will take longer for them to confirm the id and iam sure there will ask for more ducaments as per the forum so iam going to applay when i back from holiday on the 9 dec.

[taliska]

congrats bechir on having completed your ceremony. I will be posting when mine is done. racingfire hope you get some good news soon, this is a real hard process when you have to wait

[igsu]

racingfire do not worry. I applied on 4/9/09 I have no reply yet. I called them up last Friday and they said the application is still not decded - no why's no whats . I think it very depends on the case worker really. No worries, cheers. Igsu

[sidster007]

Racing fire and igsu hang in there...I'm sure it'll work out for you guys eventually. Its probably just the case worker. Try calling the UKBA on a Thursday or Friday late evening (best time I think). As I mentioned on this forum earlier I am yet to see anyone's application being declined.

Taliska is right this process is horrible...the wait makes it painful indeed and all of us have experienced it. Infact I am still feeling it whilst waiting for my letter so that my council can book me for the next ceremony which will allow me to apply for the passport (all before December 18th i hope !!)