Naturalisation application processing timelines (only)

[kiru4u]

Atlast received the approval letter.....

Application Timeline
Eligibility criteria: 5yrs + 1yr ILR
Method of application: NCS (Manchester)
Date of submission: 27th Feb 2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 28th Feb 2013
Date of debit of fees: 02nd Mar 2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 06th Mar 2013
Date of receipt of approval: 02 Apr 2013 (letter dated 21 Mar 2013)
Date of Ceremony: 16th April 2013 (waiting for the invitation letter)

called Salford council today and booked for public ceremony for 16th April!!!

[acb]

Application Timeline (Self, Wife)
Eligibility criteria: 5 years on various visa (WP, Tier 1) + 1 Year ILR
Method of application: NCS (Richmond)
Date of receipt by UKBA: Not Known
Date of debit of fees: 30/03/2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 05/04/2013 Dated 30/03/2013
Date of receipt of approval: 11/04/2013
Date of receipt of documents: 18/04/2013
Date of ceremony : 12/06/2013

Application Timeline (Daughter)
Eligibility criteria: 5 years on various visa (WP, Tier 1) + 1 Year ILR
Method of application: NCS (Richmond)
Date of receipt by UKBA: Not Known
Date of debit of fees: 30/03/2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 06/04/2013 Dated 03/04/2013
Date of receipt of approval: 13/04/2013
Date of receipt of documents: 18/04/2013
Date of ceremony : 12/06/2013

Thanks to the Royal Mail for delivering all the letters safe and on the same day..

[Tinglymeatcroydon]

Doe anybody know whether I must be registered at my local council / borough while my application is being processed?

I have recently moved to my area and I am not yet enrolled onto Council tax, TV licensce and voters register.. I guess I can do it quickly but do I need to? I'm kind of, off and on at the moment at new address so not particularly keen to begin to pay council tax in a place that I am not fully resident. Happy to pay from June when I will be here all the time. If it can expedite 'anything' in terms of my application.. Id rather just go and sign up urgently so that I have absolutely no concerns... I guess it will be a reasonable action considering that the borough is involved with the naturalization process somehow. Would you recommend I get on my council database ASAP by getting on voters list & ohh.. beginning to pay council tax like straight away. It's a new build so we are still setting up etc and not yet fully resident. I have used this address for my application in fact, I got the postcode for my self addressed envelope wrong and I had to send an urgent letter to UKBA Liverpool just to update the postcode only. Newly developed properties often take a while to validate the postcode allotted- Somehow I had the wrong info per what our postcode will be. Shall I hurry up & pay council tax then? rush?

[sz17]

Eligibility criteria:10years+1yr ILR
Method of application: NCS Edinburgh
Date of submission:13th Feb 2013
Date of debit of fees: 27 Feb 2013
Date of receipt of approval: 25th March 2013( dated 18th March)
Date of ceremony: to be confirmed.

I was unemployed when I submitted the application. But I never claimed benefit.

[Tinglymeatcroydon]

[quote="sz17"
I was unemployed when I submitted the application. But I never claimed benefit.[/quote]

thank you for that little note sz17. I'm sure it will encourage some people.

[eeaman01]

Application Timeline

Eligibility criteria: 5+1 years EEA
Method of application: NCS (Westminster)
Date of receipt by UKBA: 19-Dec-2012
Date of debit of fees: 5-Jan-2013 (transaction posted on 7-Jan-2013)
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 5-Jan-2013 (date on the UKBA letter)
Date of receipt of approval: 25-Jan-2013 (date on the UKBA letter)
Date of Ceremony: 2-Apr-2013

Approved in 5 weeks, and that's even with Christmas & New Year's bank holidays going on in between!

[playboy78]

Eligibility criteria:5 years + 1 year ILR
Method of application: post
Date of application sent: 02/04/2013
Date of application received : 03/04/2013
Date of debit of fees: --- 08/04/2013
Date of acknowledgement: --- 08/04/2013 rec on 13/04/2013
Date of approval: --- 11/06/2013 rec on 13/06/2013
Date of ceremony:--- yet to book

[totallylegit]

Any last minute advice for me? I am due to attend my ceremony tomorrow at Hackney, but I do not have the letter from the Home Office. They never sent one (or it got lost in the post). I called hackney to ask if they had anything there for me a few weeks back and they confirmed that they did indeed have my certificate and were waiting for me to confirm my ceremony for tomorrow.

I am all set to go, but the letter from the Home Office has not arrived and Hackney have told me that I absolutely need it to attend tomorrow. I have called the 0845 number and cannot get a person, only advice to email (that is not monitored!). I have called the 0870 number and they say they can do nothing about it and I need to email- there is no one to speak to!

Anyone had a similar experience? Any way out???? so frustrating!!!

[m30ukba]

I was unemployed when I submitted the application. But I never claimed benefit.

thank you for that little note sz17. I'm sure it will encourage some people.

What do you mean by encouragement? I paid taxes, NI for last 10 years, only visited NHS for flu etc 3 times, why shouldn't people who are eligible to claim benefits claim them? we have invested heavily in this country not to mention more than £12k in UKBA fees, £12k for sub standard studies.

[m30ukba]

Hi
I have applied for Citizenship but they have only taken £851, Do they only charge ceremony fee once the application is successful?
Thanks

[sarwar74]

£851 IS FOR evry thing

[bedfordland]

Eligibility criteria: 3 Years (British Spouse)+ ILR)
Method of application: NCS Islington
Date of NCS Appointment:26/03/2013
Date of courier receipt by UKBA: 27/03/2013
Date of debit of fees:05/04/2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement:09/04/2013 (dated 05/04/2013)
Date of receipt of approval: 18/04/2013 (dated 14/04/2013)
Date of Ceremony:02/05/2013

Home office working on Sunday too as my letter dated on 14th April.

Thank you everyone.

[m30ukba]

£851 IS FOR evry thing

Thanks Sarwar, thats good to know as the price for ceremony was given separately in the fees pdf I thought it's 851 + 80.

[Peterpan81]

Does anyone know roughly how long usually does it take after Biometrics submission to have the decision?

You could see from people's experiences it's anything between 6-12 weeks
Anyone from Nov/Dec Group applicants recieved their BRP ?

[cutepearl]

Application Timeline

Eligibility criteria: 5+1 years EEA
Method of application: NCS (Hackney)
Date sent by NCS: 03rd April 2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 04th April 2013
Date of debit of fees: 10th April 2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement:
Date of receipt of approval: 21st June 2013 dated 11th June
Date of Ceremony: Will book next week

Thanks to all and good luck who's waiting. [/b]

[carlton]

Application Timeline

Joint Application AN and MN1

Eligibility criteria: 5 Yrs Ancestral + 1 ILR
Method of application: Postal Special delivery
Date sent by Post: 28th March 2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 02nd April 2013
Date of debit of fees: 09th April 2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 12th April 2013 (issued 09-April)
Date of return of docs (contained letter stating application was successful): 24th April 2013 (Dated 22 April 2013)
Date of Citizenship invitation letter: 29-Apr-13
Date of Ceremony: 03-May-13 (Private due 1st date for group was 19-Jun)

[Arunkrish]

Eligibility criteria: wp + tier 1 (5 yrs) ; 1 year ILR; joint AN + 1 child (mn1)
Application: NCS Westminster on 5th march 2013
Date of receipt by UKBA:6th march ( RM tracking confirmation)
Date of debit of fees: 11th march 2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 15th march ( dated 11th march)
Date of receipt of approval: 2nd April 2013 (dated 26th March)
Date of ceremony: Private ceremony booked for 6th April (Saturday).

Was pretty quick. Two weeks from the fee deduction date.

Public ceremony date given was 24th April. Private ceremony dates are freely available, typically in less than one week's time. A higher charge for Saturdays (£160 per family) as compared to week days (£120).

[the_ilr_boy]

Congratulations Arunkrish!!

I applied through NCS Westminster also (a few days after you), did you get approval and invitation from Westminster together?

For the private ceremonies, I assume you get a specific time?

[srinuuuuu]

Eligibility: HSMP (2 years)+ Tier1 (3 years)+ ILR (1 year)
Applicants: Myself
Method of application: NCS Nottingham (fees £110 )
Date of application: 18/03/2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: No Idea
Date of debit of fees: 04/04/13
Date of acknowledgement :06/04/13 (dated: 29/03/2013)
Date of approval: 26/04/2013 (Dated: 17/04/2013)
Date of Ceremony: 07/05/2013 (Public ceremony)

[Arunkrish]

Congratulations Arunkrish!!

I applied through NCS Westminster also (a few days after you), did you get approval and invitation from Westminster together?

For the private ceremonies, I assume you get a specific time?

Thanks.

I did not get any letter from westminster council and it does not matter. The key document is the home office approval letter which is sent to your residence. You can contact the council to book an appointment for the ceremony as soon as the home office approval letter comes. Private appointments are given for a specific hour. You need to be present 15 mins before the appointment and can plan to return in 45 mins max. Good luck.

[Twin]

Application Timeline
Eligibility criteria: Long Residence Outside the Rules
Method of application: NCS Camden
Method of application:29/2/2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 1/3/2013
Date of debit of fees: 6/3/2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 12/3/2013
Date of receipt of approval: 24/3/2013
Date of Ceremony: 15/4/2013

[tunde10]

Application Timeline

Eligibility criteria: 6yrs Discretionary Leave + 1yr ILR
Method of application: Postal: Special Delivery
Date of application:07/03/2013
Date of receipt by UKBA: 08/03/2013
Date of debit of fees: 13/03/2013
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 16/03/2013 (dated 13/03/13)
Date of receipt of approval: 04/04/2013 (dated 28/03/13)
Date of Ceremony: 25/04/2013

It was a very quick and straightforward process. Took exactly 4weeks from postal of application to approval.
My advice to anyone would be not to use the NCS unless they really need their passport back. Postal application seems quiicker and it is obviously a cheaper method. The application is straightforward and there is no real need for NCS if you read the guide and follow.

Anyway this website was very useful and i am very grateful for it. Thanks to all contributors.

[chicona]

Date of application: 19.10.2012
Received by UKBA: 22.10.2012 (Delivered from Royal Mail )
Date of debit of fees: 27.10.2012
Date of receipt of acknowledgement: 30.10.2012
Date of approval: 28.03.2013
Date of receipt of approval: 03.04.2013 (special delivery)
Date of Ceremony : next week maybe private

21.03.2013 home office ask additional documents for comfirmation residence because no passport or travel document from 2007 to 2010 I was sending some document bank statement, council tax record, job centre letter, tax credit letter....
so happy after 5 months 13 days approval home , thank you everybody for help!

[jonkil]

From this thread, I see that the processing times are much quicker than 6 months - am I right ?

I am completing one year on an ILR end-April, if I apply for naturalisation then, how long will the entire process take to get my British passport? I ask because I need to then apply for a US visa to start studies in November this year?

[BigSam]

From this thread, I see that the processing times are much quicker than 6 months - am I right ?

I am completing one year on an ILR end-April, if I apply for naturalisation then, how long will the entire process take to get my British passport? I ask because I need to then apply for a US visa to start studies in November this year?

Yep.. Many lucky applicants had their applications processed in under 3 weeks. I was one of the not so lucky ones and waited 4 months, chicona as you can see waited almost 6 months and some people on this forum have been waiting for over a year.

Why some applications take longer/chosen for extra checks/put on ice, nobody really knows. You just apply and keep your fingers corssed. Good luck!!