TIMELINE AFTER NATURALISATION APPLICATION SUBMISSION

[Anastasia]

I have been waiting around 6 months now, I here people here have applied later than me and got their approvals back before me.

What is the problem causing this delay? Yes i know the office is busy since 1st November changes... then why some have such a fast turnaround and others like me dont?

Surely they must have decided by now. All I got from them in the last month was a later stating they will carry out character checks.

It also says ‘if your application has been over 6 months’ that we may call them and find what are the delays. (which i will)

To be honest the delay is starting to piss me off!

Surely character checks are a quick phone call or a few letters that would take around 2 weeks!


Can anyone who had ‘character checks’ on them let me know how long the decision came after receiving the letter?

Thanks

[sasa9200]

opppps,

how did u apply NCS? or post? also u said u receved last month the check letter, but i receved it within 2 weeks of my application. i hope i dont stay 6 month:(((((((((((((((((((((((

[Anastasia]

I applied by post.

I doubt you will have to wait as long as me.

But looks like we got the same letter on the same date. Mine is dated 27th June too. But then you applied way later than me. I applied in the start of Feb.

I check my mail box every morning, i should stop. I only get annoyed when i dont see nothing in it.

Well good luck to you, hopefully it will arrive soon!

Keep me updated, i have a feeling we will get our approval letters on the same date too.



............................

Anastasia

[sasa9200]

yes I wish you good luck too. some guy just posted he applied same day as me and he got approved on 30 june, cermony 4 july. i also do check my post box every single morrning and thats also make me depressed when i see nothing. but finger crossed for both of us and i hope it arrive soon.

[Anastasia]

thank you!

Smiles*

[bbdivo]

Well here goes, fingers crossed it comes through quick:

NCS or Postal : NCS
If NCS, which centre : Leicestershire (By appointment)
Date of submission or posting : 11 July 2006
CRITERIA - 5 yr stay (4 + 1 yr ILR) : 4 years on WP + 1 yr ILR
Date of debit of debit/credit card : 12 July 2006
Date of receipt of acknowledgement : 15 July 2006 (Dated 12 July 2006)
Date of receipt of approval : 7 August 2006 (Dated 3 August 2006)
Date of receipt of invitations : 9 August 2006 (Dated 4 August 2006)
Date of Ceremony : 16 August 2006
Date of appln. for passport : 21 August 2006
Method used : In-person Passport Office 1 week gauranteed
Date of Receipt : 31 August 2006 (attempted delivery on 26 August 2006 but was away at the time!)

Mine had a slight twist, my passport expired Dec 2005, and I would not have been able to renew it in time for submission with the application, as a result I did not renew it and I supplied a letter from my employer.

[Big A]

Lets hope my application goes as smoothly as some people on this forum:

NCS or Postal : NCS
If NCS, which centre : Wandsworth (By appointment)
Date of submission or posting : 29 June 2006
CRITERIA - 5 yr stay (4 + 1 yr ILR) : 4 years on WP + 1 yr ILR
Date of debit of debit/credit card : 30 June 2006
Date of receipt of acknowledgement : 04 July 2006
Date of receipt of approval : still waiting
Date of receipt of invitations :
Date of Ceremony :
Date of appln. for passport :
Method used :
Date of Receipt :

[Big A]

UPDATE:

NCS or Postal : NCS
If NCS, which centre : Wandsworth (By appointment)
Date of submission or posting : 29 June 2006
CRITERIA - 5 yr stay (4 + 1 yr ILR) : 4 years on WP + 1 yr ILR
Date of debit of debit/credit card : 30 June 2006
Date of receipt of acknowledgement : 04 July 2006
Date of receipt of approval : 12 July 2006
Date of receipt of invitations :
Date of Ceremony : 02 August 2006
Date of appln. for passport :
Method used :
Date of Receipt :

My partner just called me at work to advise me of my approval. Can't believe it! 13 Days to get approved (it must be some kind of record!!). I Almost fell off my chair. It's perfect timing, because I'm off to the south of France for 4 days starting tomorrow. I'm so happy to have been approved. Thanks to all involved in getting my application sorted out.

[bbdivo]

Congratulations! I hope mine comes through that quick!

[doctor71]

hi everybody, i am a new member.just registered to thank everybody for the fantastic forum.i have been following the forum for sometime now and found very helpful.infact info here helped me fill my naturalisation application recently.applied on 13/6/06 and approval received on 27/6/06[used ncs] .now waiting for citizenship ceremony on 19/7/06.wish everybody good luck

[dralex]

Hello I am a new member, I have just applied for BC using solicitor, on the ground of maraige to BC.
I didn't have any particular reason to use solicitor... I just did it to make sure my application is absolutely OK.
I only descovered this forum, once I already sent y application form.
I saw few posts from people who used solicitors saying that they waited much longer for the decison.
Can anyone who have used solicitor recently please advise me of their experience! Is it a general rule that if you use solicitor you wait much longer?
Does that complicate things or was it only a coincidence?

Thank you for your help!

dralex

[John]

Can't believe it! 13 Days to get approved (it must be some kind of record!!).

Well actually no. A few months ago before the rush started to beat the citizenship test requirement, someone who used NCS reported their application has taken about a week.

NCS works! It is highly recommended. Whatever it says on the IND website about it making no difference to the time taken to deal with the application, well don't believe it! It can (but admittedly does not always) speed up the process very considerably.

Dralex, you used a solicitor to submit the application. After checking the application was in order they would have posted it to Liverpool. So regretfully you will not get the benefit that NCS gives to many applicants.

Too late for you Dralex but for anyone else tempted to use a solicitor to check a naturalisation application ..... it is far cheaper and quicker to use NCS instead. After all the NCS will politely decline to forward to Liverpool any application where the form has not been completed properly or where supporting documentation is missing. Or put it another way, any application arriving in Liverpool via an NCS office is guaranteed to be a good application ... good in the sense that the form has been completed properly and all the supporting documentation is present .... hence the speed with which they can deal with such applications.

[Anastasia]

Big A,

That was fast! you must be over the moon.


Congrats!!


..............................

Anastasia

[dralex]

Dear John,

thanks for your reply. I understand your point about the fact that NCS is certifying pasports and checking whether the application is complete, but that is all that Home Office website state NCS does.
There is not even a word that NCS application are being delt with same moment and postal ones left on a shelf for several months to be looked into.
Some of the postal ones might also be meticulously filled in and how can they know whether that is the case if they don't even look at them upon receipt. I think that my one is perfectly filled as it has been done by the solicitor with 25 years experience and I attached every possible document I had, so I think that it would be quite unfair for it to be left unopen for several months only becouse it did not arrive throuh NCS.

Anyway if you think that the waiting period is so much longer for postal application, would it be wise to withdrow it and apply again through NCS.

I mean, I am not in a big hurry but I would rather be anxious for 2 weeks then 6 months, as this is really eating me.

Thank you for your help and i wish I discovered this forum earlier.

Dralex

[John]

I understand your point about the fact that NCS is certifying passports and checking whether the application is complete, but that is all that Home Office website state NCS does.

Of course I agree that the IND website says the things you say it says. However, as reported by numerous people on this Board, the reality at regards timing is somewhat different.

As regards :-

There is not even a word that NCS application are being dealt with same moment and postal ones left on a shelf for several months to be looked into.

-: I suspect that is not how it works at all. But I do suspect that there could will be a separate work unit dealing just with NCS-routed applications, and that work unit is able to turn round applications very quickly indeed. After all the pre-checking done at the NCS office means that work ordinarily done at IND in Liverpool does not need to be done there at all, namely, a check to ensure that all the required supporting documentation is present, that the application form is properly completed and signed, and that the timing of the application is OK.

Much work is caused at Liverpool by postal-routed applications not being OK, be it something as mundane at the applicant forgetting to sign the application form, to being made when 5 years (or 3 years as relevant) earlier the person was not physically in the UK.

There is a great incentive for IND management there at Liverpool dealing with citizenship applications to turn round "easy" applications very quickly. Simply the IND website reports the average wait time, currently 5.33 months for Naturalisation applications. Clearly the ability to clear "easy" applications very quickly improves that statistic, but also tends to hide how poorly they are dealing with some other applications.

Anyway if you think that the waiting period is so much longer for postal application, would it be wise to withdrow it and apply again through NCS.

No, absolutely not. Just sit there in the queue and hopefully your wait will not be too long. My wife and step-daughter applied for their citizenship two years ago when the average wait time for naturalisation was said to be 8 months. However their applications took just 5 weeks, which of course delighted us. Did we use NCS? No, it had not then been invented.

[bbdivo]

I think that my one is perfectly filled as it has been done by the solicitor with 25 years experience and I attached every possible document I had, so I think that it would be quite unfair for it to be left unopen for several months only becouse it did not arrive throuh NCS.

Unless you have a particularly complex case anyone can complete the form, you don't need 25 years experience to complete it properly! You say you attached every possible document you had, well that it in itself could put you at a disadvantage, it would mean the caseworker would have a lot more documentation to go through and verify, etc therefore taking longer.

But having said that, I know someone who went the postal route (without a solicitor) and there application was turned around just as quickly as anyone on here who has used the NCS route. And in fact if you read throuhg this (very long) thread that there has been at least one instance where somone who has used the NCS has had to wait 3-4 months. So just keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best!

[Lady Helen]

Criteria = spouse
NCS Hull 19 May 2006
Date on acknowledgement letter = 22 May
Receipt of acknowledgement = 30 May
Date of approval = 3 July
Receipt of approval = 7 July

[dralex]

Hi bbdivo and John,

thanks for your replys. It is encouraging to know that even some people eho applied through postal route had their applications processed quickly.
Hopefuly it won't take too long.

Does anyone knows anybody who used solicitor and still got quick reply?

Cheers,
dralex

[citi1]

NCS or Postal : NCS

If NCS, which centre :
Date of submission or posting : 11-july-2006(appointment at 1 PM)

CRITERIA - 5 yr stay (4 + 1 yr ILR) : (4+1 yr ILR)

Date of debit of debit/credit card : 12-jul-2006

Date of receipt of acknowledgement : 15-jul-2006

Date of receipt of approval :22-jul-2006
Date of Ceremony
Date of appln. for passport
Method used
Date of Receipt

[John]

Citi1, congratulations on the approval, and indeed congratulations on the very fast approval. 11 days from NCS to approval date is not quite a record reported in this board but is certainly up there on the leaderboard!

According to the IND website, as at the end of June the average wait time for naturalisation was 5.33 months. I suspect the end July indication will be less than that.

Enjoy your Citizenship Ceremony!

[bbdivo]

NCS or Postal : NCS

If NCS, which centre :
Date of submission or posting : 11-july-2006(appointment at 1 PM)

CRITERIA - 5 yr stay (4 + 1 yr ILR) : (4+1 yr ILR)

Date of debit of debit/credit card : 12-jul-2006

Date of receipt of acknowledgement : 15-jul-2006

Date of receipt of approval :22-jul-2006
Date of Ceremony
Date of appln. for passport
Method used
Date of Receipt

Congrats!, your timeline is identical to mine up to Date of Receipt of Approval! hopefully mines not too far behind!

[mansawant]

Hi,

My wife is work permit holder and myself and my son are depenent. She has applied for FLR (IED) - Change of employment as she has chagned her job. She got new change of employment letter issued by home office. Her details are given below.

Application posted : On 12/07/06

Applicaion receviced by Home Office : On 13/07/06

Acknowledgement received: On 19/07/06 (Dated 15/07/06)

When She her phoned Home Office for the progress, she was told that application is still not assigned to case worker. Last time when she first time applied for FLR (IED), she got the approval within week's time. Why it's getting delayed this time?
I would appreciate if someone who has recently got approval for FLR (IED) - Work Permit holder update me about the time taken by Home Office to approve his/her application.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks & Regards,
Mansawant

[mansawant]

My wife is work permit holder and myself and my son are depenent. She has applied for FLR (IED) - Change of employment as she has chagned her job. She got new change of employment letter issued by home office. Her details are given below.

Application posted : On 12 July 2006

Applicaion receviced by Home Office : On 13 July 2006

Acknowledgement received: On 19 July 2006 (Dated 15 July 2006)

When She her phoned Home Office for the progress, she was told that application is still not assigned to case worker. Last time when she first time applied for FLR (IED), she got the approval within week's time. Why it's getting delayed this time?
I would appreciate if someone who has recently got approval for FLR (IED) - Work Permit holder update me about the time taken by Home Office to approve his/her application.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks & Regards,
Mansawant

[savicomp77]

hi dralex,

Have you had any update status on your BC ?

I am applying for one soon and was wondering if its better to go through NCS or post ?


Thanks

[John]

savicomp77, especially if you are reasonably close to an NCS office, well certainly use that route.

Absolutely no guarantee that you will hear the result of the application sooner but .... well just look at some recent postings in this topic about just how fast NCS-routed applications can be.