Naturalisation and passport post-submisson of BC application

[bncsuk]

Hello friends,

I am seeking your thoughts on my sitaution below and would be great if you can share some insignts based on your experience.

Current Situation:
I submitted the application for BC last week through NCS. I have now been informed by my employer to take up a project for 6 months abroad which will require me to be away from UK for the next 180 days or so.

Background:
I rent an apartment and have decided to give it up (as it will not be used for the time I am away) and move my things to storage for the duration I am going to be away. I have also decided to set royal mail redirection to my new address for the 6 months that I am away. I plan to come back for my oath ceremony when I receive the notification from HO and apply for a passport when I am here and then travel back again to complete my project. For this short duration when I return to UK purely with the intent of participating in the Oath ceremony, I plan to stay at a friend's place in UK and in that time attend the oath ceremony, apply for British passport and leave UK again to complete the project. I am assuming that I can apply for British Passport straight after the Oath Ceremony where I will obtain my naturalisation certificate.

My Qs are:
1. Should I inform HO about my situation i.e. that I am going to be away etc. Does being away and not having a (rented) home in UK when my application is under consideration affect the outcome?
2. Is redirection to an address abroad a safe alternative to receive further communications from HO or does one need to call them up to confirm things? Is the latter an intrusive approach and the former a very reactive approach? Is there a better way to track the status considering risks around badly routed mail or lost mail etc?
3. Do I need an address (i.e. proof of address such as recent utility bills and such) to apply for a passport when it is due? Especially since the whole idea behind IPS is identity verification.
4. Can I use my friend's address as a temporary to apply for the passport?
5. On an average, how long does the process for first UK passport take if I am planning to use the Post office check & send service and appear for the face to face interview anywhere in UK nextday? Are we talking in weeks or days? How can this be speeded up (I know fast track is not an option for first passports)?

I’d be grateful if you can share your collective experience on this forum and will appreciate if there are other ideas to get around this.

Many Thanks for your support.

[osteophytes]

My Qs are:
1. Should I inform HO about my situation i.e. that I am going to be away etc. Does being away and not having a (rented) home in UK when my application is under consideration affect the outcome?

Better not to inform them. If some one is going to be away for more than 6 months then the future intention requirement might not be met (see section 2 point 3 in this link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

2. Is redirection to an address abroad a safe alternative to receive further communications from HO or does one need to call them up to confirm things? Is the latter an intrusive approach and the former a very reactive approach? Is there a better way to track the status considering risks around badly routed mail or lost mail etc?

Not sure if you can redirect to an address abroad. Better to use a friend's address here. Calling them is not always feasible and recently they are not answering enquiries about applications less than 6 months old

3. Do I need an address (i.e. proof of address such as recent utility bills and such) to apply for a passport when it is due? Especially since the whole idea behind IPS is identity verification.

No need for a proof of address

4. Can I use my friend's address as a temporary to apply for the passport?

Yes

5. On an average, how long does the process for first UK passport take if I am planning to use the Post office check & send service and appear for the face to face interview anywhere in UK nextday? Are we talking in weeks or days? How can this be speeded up (I know fast track is not an option for first passports)?

4 to 6 weeks

[bncsuk]

My Qs are:
1. Should I inform HO about my situation i.e. that I am going to be away etc. Does being away and not having a (rented) home in UK when my application is under consideration affect the outcome?

Better not to inform them. If some one is going to be away for more than 6 months then the future intention requirement might not be met (see section 2 point 3 in this link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

2. Is redirection to an address abroad a safe alternative to receive further communications from HO or does one need to call them up to confirm things? Is the latter an intrusive approach and the former a very reactive approach? Is there a better way to track the status considering risks around badly routed mail or lost mail etc?

Not sure if you can redirect to an address abroad. Better to use a friend's address here. Calling them is not always feasible and recently they are not answering enquiries about applications less than 6 months old

3. Do I need an address (i.e. proof of address such as recent utility bills and such) to apply for a passport when it is due? Especially since the whole idea behind IPS is identity verification.

No need for a proof of address

4. Can I use my friend's address as a temporary to apply for the passport?

Yes

5. On an average, how long does the process for first UK passport take if I am planning to use the Post office check & send service and appear for the face to face interview anywhere in UK nextday? Are we talking in weeks or days? How can this be speeded up (I know fast track is not an option for first passports)?

4 to 6 weeks

Thank you for your response, but further clarification needed.
1. If some one is going to be away for more than 6 months then the future intention requirement might not be met (see section 2 point 3 in this link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

This is for official / work related reasons and will be exactly 6 months - my employer is still paying my salary in UK which means I intend to hold my job in UK.

2. Royal Mail offers redirection to International address, but I agree with you and may opt to redirect to my friend's address instead.

3-5. Thank you for the prompt reply.

[osteophytes]

My Qs are:
1. Should I inform HO about my situation i.e. that I am going to be away etc. Does being away and not having a (rented) home in UK when my application is under consideration affect the outcome?

Better not to inform them. If some one is going to be away for more than 6 months then the future intention requirement might not be met (see section 2 point 3 in this link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

2. Is redirection to an address abroad a safe alternative to receive further communications from HO or does one need to call them up to confirm things? Is the latter an intrusive approach and the former a very reactive approach? Is there a better way to track the status considering risks around badly routed mail or lost mail etc?

Not sure if you can redirect to an address abroad. Better to use a friend's address here. Calling them is not always feasible and recently they are not answering enquiries about applications less than 6 months old

3. Do I need an address (i.e. proof of address such as recent utility bills and such) to apply for a passport when it is due? Especially since the whole idea behind IPS is identity verification.

No need for a proof of address

4. Can I use my friend's address as a temporary to apply for the passport?

Yes

5. On an average, how long does the process for first UK passport take if I am planning to use the Post office check & send service and appear for the face to face interview anywhere in UK nextday? Are we talking in weeks or days? How can this be speeded up (I know fast track is not an option for first passports)?

4 to 6 weeks

Thank you for your response, but further clarification needed.
1. If some one is going to be away for more than 6 months then the future intention requirement might not be met (see section 2 point 3 in this link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

This is for official / work related reasons and will be exactly 6 months - my employer is still paying my salary in UK which means I intend to hold my job in UK.

2. Royal Mail offers redirection to International address, but I agree with you and may opt to redirect to my friend's address instead.

3-5. Thank you for the prompt reply.

I still stand by what I said before. Not a good idea to tell them as it will just complicate things