Error on the Certificate of Naturalisation, sent back...

[dmitrois]

There was a problem on my wife's Naturalisation Certificate - maiden surname omitted, so after the ceremony we sent it back, as instructed, to the address indicated on the ceremony invitation letter:

UKBA NW Region,
Nationality,
PO Box 306,
The Plaza,
Old Hall Street,
Liverpool L3 9QJ

That was fool of me to trust blindly what is written on the UKBA correspondence without checking: it turns out, they have moved out from that address about two years ago (!), and they still have not bothered to amend the text in their letters "what to do it there is an error in your certificate". Unfortunayely, we sent it 1st class, not recorded delivery (damn, why was I so greedy!).

Nationality Directorate is now at some other address in Liverpool, according to the UKBA website. It has been 4 weeks that we sent away the original certificate, no news since then.

Phone number of the Nationality Directorate they give out is automated, no way to speak to a human. I dropped them an e-mail to FurtherNationalityEnquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk about week ago, full radio silence since then, not even an automated confirmation.

I am still nourishing a hope that they might have set up mail re-direction, and that the certificate was not lost.

Do fellow forumites happen to know how to get to talk to someone from the Nationality Department (to make sure they've got our docs), and what are the normal waiting times for amending the certificates?

Thanks a lot in advance!

[destiniation_london]

I am sure they still either have access to the mailbox or must have set mail redirect., I remember some other member posting certificate back to them for correction to the address mentioned at the back of letter, he did get the corrected certificate but it took him nearly 6-8 weeks to get it back, so I think them moving out of that address and time it takes for mail to redirect and sort adds to the delay.

[englishlife]

There was a problem on my wife's Naturalisation Certificate - maiden surname omitted, so after the ceremony we sent it back, as instructed, to the address indicated on the ceremony invitation letter:

UKBA NW Region,
Nationality,
PO Box 306,
The Plaza,
Old Hall Street,
Liverpool L3 9QJ

That was fool of me to trust blindly what is written on the UKBA correspondence without checking: it turns out, they have moved out from that address about two years ago (!), and they still have not bothered to amend the text in their letters "what to do it there is an error in your certificate". Unfortunayely, we sent it 1st class, not recorded delivery (damn, why was I so greedy!).

Nationality Directorate is now at some other address in Liverpool, according to the UKBA website. It has been 4 weeks that we sent away the original certificate, no news since then.

Phone number of the Nationality Directorate they give out is automated, no way to speak to a human. I dropped them an e-mail to FurtherNationalityEnquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk about week ago, full radio silence since then, not even an automated confirmation.

I am still nourishing a hope that they might have set up mail re-direction, and that the certificate was not lost.

Do fellow forumites happen to know how to get to talk to someone from the Nationality Department (to make sure they've got our docs), and what are the normal waiting times for amending the certificates?

Thanks a lot in advance!

My dear friend I can assured you as it is PO box address so there is no point for you to get scared for nothing and they still use same po box so they got your certificate. If you still worry then I would suggest you to send a photocopy with cover letter to nationality team and mentioned the error details with proof of correct details. And thry will get back to uou. And asked your wife to sign the letter. Anyways what was the error if you dont mind to tell us. And by the way local postman always aware in that place that its s ukba letter, so please tension free. Thank you.

[dmitrois]

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Guys, thank you for reassurance! Now I will sleep a bit faster

Anyways what was the error if you dont mind to tell us.

The error is like I said, my wife's maiden surname was omitted, as in "not there at all". First name was there, patronymic was there (we have that funny thing in Russia), but maiden surname was not. We felt like the maiden name is a big thing for any ID check, so it would be good to have it sorted out, hence the hassle with sending the certificate back.

[dmitrois]

UPDATE:

We received the corrected certificate today (15 June). It took a little more than 4 weeks.

Turned out, they did set-up mail redirection