Few basic naturalisation questions - please HELP!

[SidB]

1) My wife's passport has her maiden name but her legal name has been changed. Her country has acknowledged the change by stamping her marriage certificate from India but they don't issue a new passport. In form AN, can she still apply in her new name or does she have to stick to her maiden name due to the name on her current passport?

2) How long does it take for the application to be sent from NCS to the Home Office? I've got a buffer of 14 days for meeting the physical presence requirement of being here 5 years prior to the application date. Is that enough?

3) To what date is the physical presence rule applied? Is it the date when the home office "receive" the application or the day when you input it on to the system? Apparently the latter can take 2-3 weeks which will cause an issue for me as I only have a two week buffer

4) Can someone advise what is the quickest way of making payment? I wish to make it by cheque but am wondering whether credit card application get processed more quickly since the authorisation is instant but I do run the risk of bank rejecting the authorisation with suspicion of fraud. A cheque may take 4-5 days to clear and return.

5) Does anyone know what method the home office uses to refund payments for naturalisation ceremony in case of a refusal? The bottom part of the payment slip doesn't appear to be the place to put this since it is only used if someone else is paying for the applicant.

[dnicky]

1. Your wife can apply for naturalisation using her changed name. As evidence she would need to provide a copy of your marriage certificate.

2. NCS normally sends the application to UKBA the next working day using special delivery. What do you mean by buffer of 14 days?

3. The date on which UKBA receives the application (if I'm not wrong !)

4. Obviously, specifying your credit/debit card details on the payment slip is the quicket option for payment.

5. No idea, better get it verified from UKBA.