NCS APPOINTMENT DEEMED INVALID

[zeee123]

Hello everyone,
Just like to share my experience today and would welcome any suggestions from all who can.
I went to NCS appointment today for submission of 2 x AN + 2 x MN1 forms but surprise surprise it turns out that I had issues with qualifying period but I'm still unsure but having read guideline of AN form I can't make up my mind.
The woman at NCS said I had to be physically present exactly 5 years back from when home office receives my application. But we were back home for those 2 weeks till 30th March 2010 and that means we can't apply until 30th March 2015 and we lost the fee of £180 as apparently we wasted her time and there's nobody that they can book in to see today and we have to book another appointment which is available 2nd week of April. That ultimately means home office fees goes up and so as NCS fees.

I have been in the UK since 2003 and past 1 yr on ILR and before that I was on Tier 1 for 5 years.

I clearly get everything as what happened here but can someone throw a light on this if I haven't followed any procedures and by doing this mere mistake now having to pay all the fees and waste of more time.

Thanks

[faributt]

Hi
I booked NCS appointment, before taking money from me they asked me the same thing as you wrote here.
I think there is rule that you shoud be present in countysame date 5 years ago.
.But on the other hand you save fees of home office it can cost you around £ 2400.
Thanks

[cs95tdg]

The woman at NCS said I had to be physically present exactly 5 years back from when home office receives my application. But we were back home for those 2 weeks till 30th March 2010 and that means we can't apply until 30th March 2015 and we lost the fee of £180 as apparently we wasted her time and there's nobody that they can book in to see today and we have to book another appointment which is available 2nd week of April. That ultimately means home office fees goes up and so as NCS fees.

I have been in the UK since 2003 and past 1 yr on ILR and before that I was on Tier 1 for 5 years.

I clearly get everything as what happened here but can someone throw a light on this if I haven't followed any procedures and by doing this mere mistake now having to pay all the fees and waste of more time.

Its mentioned on page 5 of the AN Guidance and also under the FAQ sticky here. See Q1.
http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... 95747.html
It's one of the points that has been highlighted frequently, as a reason for refusal. It's unfortunate that you had to pay the NCS fee, however on a more positive note, you were saved the HO fees for your family by going through the NCS.

[Yash001]

Sorry to know about your case zeee123. I had kind of similar experience yesterday. I initially booked an appointment of 9th Feb 2015 but later on I have to reschedule it for 16-Mar-15. I knew about this rule that you have to be present in the country exactly 5 years before on the day you are applying for naturalisation but somehow forgot to check when I rescheduled my NCS appointment. I was fortunate enough that NCS person checked against this rule and said I cannot apply till 11-Apr as I was out of the country from 12-Mar-2010 to 11-Apr-2010 however instead of asking us to re-book the appointment, she said she is going to keep all the documents and send it only on 11-Apr and she also mentioned that she will update the fee sheet in case there is increase in fee. She told me it's a common practice to hold the application in case applicant does not meet this criteria and send it only after the due date. Ideally NCS person should have kept the document and send it after 30_Mar. I think you should approach council and see if they refund you the NCS fee as you didn't avail their complete service as such.

[Torex]

Did you get NCS to check all the remaining bits of the applications?
If everything else is correct then I would send your application on 30th of March using Special Delivery, so the HO receives next day and therefore you avoid fees increase.
If you really want to use NCS to send it for you, try NCS in other town.
In my experience NCS in my town set me the appointment 2 weesks away, while the NCS in town 5 miles away had some spaces available next day.

[zeee123]

Thanks everyone for all your input and advice. They did check the form and it was all okay and I might be sending it in on 1st April by post to HO as it's pointless making another NCS Appi Trent as it will be costly option. Also as it turns out that my wife won't be able to apply until 7-5-15 due to the fact she stayed longer than me with my son but I'm not sure about my son wheather I can include him with my application or wait. I'm sure what's the criteria for kids in terms of residence requirement and being physically here in the UK.

Now as everyone interpreted that on positive side I have saved myself £3200 by going through NCS and they picked up on this issue of not being present here physically otherwise it would have been deemed unsuccessful at HO.

On the whole this forum is doing great and I somehow missed this small bit of info which costed me a bit of extra money but I hope everyone else gets benefited from this.
Thanks