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Topic: How early can you apply for naturalisation?  (Read 552 times)

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How early can you apply for naturalisation?
« on: November 29, 2015, 04:03:30 AM »
Hello all,

It will be 1 year since my wife got her ILR in July 2016. How early can she book an appointment for her naturalization? ie 2 months before her 1 year anniversary since getting ILR?

What does she need for her naturalizations? Any certificates? etc?
Is there a link to where she would go to book a naturalization ordination?
What happens at the naturalization ordination?

What is it actually called? Is it called a naturalization ordination appointment?

Hope someone can help.

THanks all in advance!


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Re: How early can you apply for naturalisation?
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2015, 07:35:21 AM »
She can't apply until she has been living in the UK for three years, and it's essential that she applies at a time when she can show she was physically present in th UK exactly three years before. However if you are a British citizen then she doesn't need to wait a year after getting  ILR. That's just for people not married to British citizens.

The process is just called naturalisation. Have a look at Form AN and the Naturalisation Checking Service. Once her application is approved you'll get more information about arranging the ceremony.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2015, 07:37:11 AM by historyenne »
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Re: How early can you apply for naturalisation?
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2015, 01:00:08 PM »
Hi there,

THanks for the reply.

I am confused as she came over on a fiancée visa in July 2013, got her FLR in July 2013, got her ILR in July 2015. (she originally applied for the fiancée via before the rules changes in July 2012, but appeal lasted 1 year - just thought I would mention that so people would not get confused as to why she only waited 2 years from FLR to ILR)
So when can she apply for her Naturalization? and how early can she booked her appointment for her naturalization? ie can she book her appointment say in March 2016 for her appointment for naturalization to be in July 2016.

What does she need for her naturalizations? Any certificates? etc?
Is there a link to where she would go to book a naturalization ordination?
What happens at the naturalization ordination?

What is it actually called? Is it called a naturalization ordination appointment?


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How early can you apply for naturalisation?
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2015, 01:12:24 PM »
As she is under the old rules she has to wait until she's been here for 3 years to apply for citizenship... So July 2016... 3 years from when she entered on the fiancé visa.

So she cannot apply until July 2016 because she has to show she was in the UK exactly 3 years prior to the date her application is submitted in the post. Currently it's taking about 4 months from the appointment date for processing and then after that she will get an invitation to attend a ceremony. Not sure how far in advance you can book an appointment though.

She can either just apply by post herself or book an NCS (Nationality Checking Service) appointment where her application will be checked and then posted for her.

See here for how to apply: https://www.gov.uk/becoming-a-british-citizen/check-if-you-can-apply


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« Last Edit: November 29, 2015, 01:13:34 PM by ksand24 »


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Re: How early can you apply for naturalisation?
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2015, 01:21:00 PM »
Once she's been in the UK for 3 years and holds ILR, she's eligible. There are a few residency requirements, but unless she's been out of the UK for a significant amount of time, she'll probably be fine.

The first step is to apply - this can be done through her council (the Nationality Checking Service) or by post and costs £1005.

The first thing she hears about her application will be a letter asking her to provide her biomentrics. She'll take the letter to a post office and they'll take her photo and fingerprints.

She'll then hear if her application is approved.

Once it is, she'll book a Citizenship Ceremony through her council.

When she applies for her first UK passport, she'll be invited for a quick interview and once that is done, she'll receive her UK passport in the post.

After all the steps in the immigration process, naturalisation seems to be the easiest.

Here are the steps with links to the application form:
https://www.gov.uk/becoming-a-british-citizen/if-your-spouse-is-a-british-citizen

Each application varies, but I applied in September, was approved after 2 months and scheduled my Citizenship Ceremony for a month later.

Here's the thread with current wait times:
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=83234.msg1131260#msg1131260
July 2012 - Fiancée Visa | Nov 2012 - Married
Dec 2012 - FLR | Nov 2014 - ILR | Dec 2015 - UK Citizen


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Re: How early can you apply for naturalisation?
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2015, 12:28:13 AM »
Thanks, that was really helpful everyone.

the Nationality Checking Service, what is that? Do you have to go somewhere and they go though everything to make sure everything is correct and then they send it off for you? Is it extra money to do that?

Thanks again!


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Re: How early can you apply for naturalisation?
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2015, 09:04:31 AM »
Thanks, that was really helpful everyone.

the Nationality Checking Service, what is that? Do you have to go somewhere and they go though everything to make sure everything is correct and then they send it off for you? Is it extra money to do that?

Thanks again!

The Nationality Checking Service costs about £50-60 (it varies between council).

They look at your application, supporting docs, make copies of everything (so you get to hold on to your passport) and send it off for you.

It doesn't really speed the process up (looking at the processing times in the thread I posted above, it doesn't seem to make a difference), but it is comforting to have someone look over everything to be sure you haven't missed anything.
July 2012 - Fiancée Visa | Nov 2012 - Married
Dec 2012 - FLR | Nov 2014 - ILR | Dec 2015 - UK Citizen


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Re: How early can you apply for naturalisation?
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2015, 09:12:31 AM »
As TravelingFrog mentioned, using NCS is extra and it depends on the price the council has set (mine for Bromley Council was 65GBP). 

Personally, I think it's worth it as they make official copies of your documents (including passports) but you get to keep the originals (including passports).  We had a trip coming up in Sept to the US so I needed to keep my passport for travel and where I applied in July, I didn't want to chance not having my documents returned to me by then...which was good because I didn't get my approval until a couple of weeks ago.

If you do opt to send in the application yourself, you must send in all original documents and passports.


FYI - currently, biometrics are also extra (19.50GBP) and not included in the application fee


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