questions

[london2tim]

Hi
I have a question to ask to anyone here that knows these things:
I am currently waiting for my answer on the naturalisation apps (hopefully a positive one)
my problem is that my current passport (non UK) is expiring on the 19th Jan
If my citizenship is approved and i have to apply for my first UK passport - after 19 Jan - do i need to renew my current non uk passport first ?
this would be terrible as it takes 3 months to do it and i really dont want to postpone getting the british passport so long

is it possible to still apply even if the passport has expired or can I do???

Thanks

[cs95tdg]

do i need to renew my current non uk passport first ?

No

is it possible to still apply even if the passport has expired?

Yes, you can.

[london2tim]

do i need to renew my current non uk passport first ?

No

is it possible to still apply even if the passport has expired?

Yes, you can.

Thanks cs95TDG
May i Ask : is this from experience or you're just taking a guess?

[cs95tdg]

May i Ask : is this from experience or you're just taking a guess?

Its a logical conclusion based on the passport form guidance (there is no requirement stated that you need to hold a current valid foreign passport when applying), and the fact that there are many countries that do not permit multiple nationalities. Hence even if someone did have a apparently unexpired foreign passport at the time of applying for their first British passport, that passport may no longer be valid anyway (due to the fact that the person would have lost citizenship of the originating country as a result of naturalising as a British citiezen).

[london2tim]

Thanks
looking on the HO website re applying for the first adult british passport - it doesnt specifically states it needs to be a valid passport:

Born outside the UK
You have a certificate of naturalisation or registration

You must send:

your naturalisation or registration certificate
the passport you used to come into the UK or foreign passport you’re included on

[geriatrix]

For you own benefit, read the guidance - Applying for a passport

[london2tim]

For you own benefit, read the guidance - Applying for a passport

Yes I already read it - it doesnt have a specific paragraph explaining what to do if your foreign passport is expired - hence why i asked here?!!

[london2tim]

Hi
I know this has probably been discussed at large here - but i wanted to also share my frustration with the HO and their methodology of dealing with applications
Leaving aside that some cases are more complex and will take longer - for the other cases that have similar timelines and characteristics ( Yes i understand no application is identical ) - there seems to be huge discrepancies on how they approve the applications
Its mind boggling how they deal with the cases??? Do they draw straws on how the approve them?

I personally applied on 21 September and had a swift process of receiving confirmation, money going off and sending biometrics - but to date - no sign from them
Reading thru the forum i see that someone actually applied in November and sent his biometrics on 18th nov - got an approval letter on Dec 18th - 1 MONTH later
i also noticed quite a few people in October have received their approvals

Checking on the shared Doc that goes around online - i cant help noticed that approvals seems to happen in blocks (did you not noticed that there are like 5-6 consecutive people who have all received their approvals same week, then follows a block of another 5-6 who have not received, then another block of people who have and so on.....)
Now that spreadsheet is build on date of application so it follows chronological logic

Im starting to think the HO just picks up bulks of applications and approve X from each month, then does next month and so on

so they might be working now on 10 apps from june, 10 from july , ....10 from November
if you are lucky to be in those 10 - than you can get an answer as fast as 1 month
if you are unlucky to be in those 10 selected at bottom you could be waiting 6-8 months to get an answer

to me this is frustrating because it shows they are not working on cases chronologically but randomly
and is not fair
we all paid the same £££ and we all have needs to travel & to get our situation in order
I dont mind that i have to wait 5-6 months if i can see that everyone who applied around my time and after are also still pending
But it really grinds me when some just applied and got an answer and some are still waiting like idiots for someone to actually pick up their file and look into it

There should be an online checking application system so that you can at least see where they are with your application - then people will feel less stressed and worried

At the moment is really all about luck - and how the wind blows from Liverpool
Very disappointed with this process - i was warned it will be like this but - you have to live it to believe it


PS:
yes i know some cases are more complex and take longer but those are the exceptions
I can tell you - i have applied via a solicitor - they told me my application is one of the most str8 fwd they made and advised me i could expect a decision as early as end of Nov
Came January now and they said they are themselves baffled on the delays and how HO are issuing approvals as they had submitted apps for some in OCT and have been approved - but have apps from June which still havent - all of which are str8 fwd ones


God help us all

[CR001]

And yet there are still forum members, with straightforward applications, waiting since May 2014.

[london2tim]

And yet there are still forum members, with straightforward applications, waiting since May 2014.

without speaking in ignorance - i dont think they are str8 forward
clearly if you submitted your application in may 2014 - so 20 months ago - you would have heard back from HO as they obligated to offer updates once more than 6 month have passed
so whomever is in this situation - clearly has a complex situation of which they are aware

my point was re the apps where decisions are made within the 6 months frame and why there is no chronological order on dealing with them and sending approvals/refusals etc

[anniecc]

I suspect what happens is that the applications get allocated to case workers in batches and each case worker deals with their set of applications chronologically. If your application gets allocated to a slow case worker, they take sick leave or a holiday, or they happen to have a couple of complex cases before they get to yours, you will be waiting longer than a application allocated to a different case worker.

I do agree with you about the need for some sort of online system for tracking the progress of applications. It seems like that would be fairly simple to implement, particularly when we are paying so much to apply.

[london2tim]

I suspect what happens is that the applications get allocated to case workers in batches and each case worker deals with their set of applications chronologically. If your application gets allocated to a slow case worker, they take sick leave or a holiday, or they happen to have a couple of complex cases before they get to yours, you will be waiting longer than a application allocated to a different case worker.

You might be right
in cases like this i wish AI or Robots would deal with our applications
they dont take holidays and tend to be very efficient