Extended timescales for Naturalisation

[Devil81]

Hi folks,

I have been following the naturalization timelines since March 2017 and I myself have applied in July, it makes me wonder why is it taking so long for the approvals?

A pretty straightforward application take 4-5 months to get an approval, add a month (generally) on top of it for the ceremony and 1-2 weeks to receive the passports. The whole process can take around 5-6 months.

Is it purely due to sudden surge in EU applications owing to Brexit fears or is it simply due to undertrained UKV&I personnel and/or current government policies? Speaking to one of the lady during NCS appointment, she said that they were understaffed and overworked.

Comparing current timelines to the ones in the past, I’ve seen that applicants had theirs done in less than 2 months.

Any thoughts!!

[gregzzz]

The number of applications has increased:
EU applications for UK citizenship up 80% since Brexit

However it seems like more Civil Servants were recruited:
240 Civil Service jobs available in Liverpool Visas and Immigration department

[CR001]

I am going to lock this topic as we don't need yet another discussion topic of the 'what ifs' of HO.

However, March and early April are statistically the busiest months with applicants rushing to apply before the price increase. Add to that the surge of EU PR holders applying, then we have delays.

It also depends on how long HO waits for the checks from other departments, who are inundated with HO check requests while still maintaining their own functions etc.

Nothing you can do about it but wait.