Walkin - NCS can I - five years not in UK - urgent

[rshelar]

Hi,

I have a NCS appointment booked for 4th of Dec. However I have now realised that I was out of the UK on 4th Dec, 5 years back so wont qualify. My leave then was fairly long so I wish to send in the application such that it is received by the home office when I was in UK, 5 years back and hence before 4th dec.


- Can I walk in to any NCS on Monday or Tuesday ? Do you know any which provide this facility ?

- How soon is the application received by home office after the appointment with NCS, is it same day, next day or after few days?

I stay in London and dont mind travelling to any council in London.

- What date should I try to get changed so that the home office receives in correct time.

[CR001]

NCS doesn't offer a 'walk in' service. You have to book an appointment.

5 years back, when did you arrive back in the UK after 4 December? When did you get ILR?

Some NCS offices only send applications once a week, others send more frequent. It really is a big gamble you are trying to take and I would suggest to wait or risk losing the fee.

The date of application is the date+1 that HO receives your application and that is the date that needs to correspond with the start of your qualifying period.

[Casa]

As an additional word of caution, we recently had a post on the forum from a member who had asked the NCS to hold their application for a day or so to correspond with the qualifying date. The NCS submitted it too early and the application was refused. The NCS will not take responsibility for ensuring submission requests are adhered to.

[rshelar]

I arrived back in Feb 2010 and flew on 4th Dec, stamp on arrival is of 5th Dec.

So if the home office receives application on the next day of appointment then I can submit on the 2nd or 3rd Dec and see if I can get my date changed to any of these?

My current appointment is on 4th Dec and if I read correctly then home office will receive on 5th Dec. Also the guidance says they will calculate +1 from the start of qualifying period, which doesn't work if I submit on 4th.

However if I change appointment to 1st or 2nd it may work ?

Regards

[Casa]

You'll be taking a big risk. As per my post post, there's no guarantee when the NCS will send your application or which day it will be received by the Home Office. Why don't you delay applying until after February 2015?

[rshelar]

Thanks, well I know I can wait until Feb 2015

But I was thinking if there is minimal risk and if the application is sent by next day delivery (which is what the council told me on phone) then home office should recieve it next day.

I was checking a. if its worth the risk and b. if I can walk in

If I feel its too much of a risk then have to wait for few month

Regards...

[Casa]

The risk is up to you. If you've read my previous post you'll see that what the NCS say they will do doesn't always turn out to be the case. It's a lot of money to lose for the sake of waiting two months.

[Julian11]

Alternatively, you could just do a postal application and use special delivery, so you'd be able to send it on Monday and know that they will get it on Tuesday.

[rshelar]

Thanks all.

I might go down the postal route as I already have the application pack ready.

[rshelar]

Oh wait, sorry that may mean submitting originals ?

damn, might have to wait for two months if I dont get an appoinment on Mon.

Regards

[t123456789]

Oh wait, sorry that may mean submitting originals ?

damn, might have to wait for two months if I dont get an appoinment on Mon.

Regards

Probably take 4-6 weeks to get your originals back (could be longer though), so if you have any trips planned...
You can also use sameday delivery service from a courier if you're willing to pay.

[rshelar]

I dont have any immediate travel planned.

So if I submit the application form on Monday as next day delivery, are you suggesting that I will get the originals back within 4-6 weeks?

So I dont have to wait until naturalisation approval (i.e. 3 months) ?

Regards

[zeusmagnanimous]

I dont have any immediate travel planned.

So if I submit the application form on Monday as next day delivery, are you suggesting that I will get the originals back within 4-6 weeks?

So I dont have to wait until naturalisation approval (i.e. 3 months) ?

Regards

These days approvals are coming really fast in around 4-6 weeks, not sure where you got the 3 months from.

[rshelar]

Well from the timeline threads for each month, it seem an average of three months.

Regards

[Casa]

The UKBA have recently advised one member that they are only now starting to process July/August BC applications. This will slow down even more over the Christmas/New Year holiday period. I believe delays have been partially caused by BC case workers being moved to help clear the Summer backlog of passport applications.

[t123456789]

I dont have any immediate travel planned.

So if I submit the application form on Monday as next day delivery, are you suggesting that I will get the originals back within 4-6 weeks?

So I dont have to wait until naturalisation approval (i.e. 3 months) ?

Regards

In theory you should get your documents back before you get your naturalisation approval, it's not like a visa application where they hold on to everything. Effectively they do the same as the NCS, photocopy them and send them back. Except they're receiving 2000 applications a day, and if, say, a quarter are postal applications that means a lot of copying... Once you get your acknowledgement letter you can also ask for your documents back via another form and it's supposed to have a 4 week turn around.

[rshelar]

Thanks everyone for your help. It has been very helpful.

[vinny]

With your time window so short, be careful.

[rshelar]

Thanks Vinny. Thankfully mine has been received.

Now the waiting begins.