Hi everyone, I applied for UK citizenship the end of September 23 and one week ago I received this email saying my application is taking more than usual. Has anyone received this email prior to hearing back from them? Is it a bad sign?
(We aim to process all applications within 6 months from the date submitted. However, in certain circumstances this target is not possible. Following our assessment of your case, unfortunately it appears your application will not be processed within the 6-month target.
By way of background, naturalisation is not an automatic process, and we have to make a number of enquiries before we can reach a decision on whether to grant citizenship.
The nature and extent of those enquiries, and the length of time taken to complete them, varies according to the particular circumstances of each application.
The progress of outstanding enquiries is regularly monitored with the agencies carrying out these enquiries on our behalf. It is only when we have the results of the enquiries that we can reach a decision on whether citizenship should be granted. We do not, ourselves, carry out these checks and we cannot, therefore, be sure how long they will take in each case.
I appreciate that Gov.uk website gives the following information in relation to waiting times for naturalisation applications:
"All applications for citizenship are subject to enquiries to ensure that the statutory requirements have been satisfied. Because of these enquires, we anticipate that applications may take up to six months to complete. Some applications may be dealt with more quickly and some may take longer, depending on the nature of the enquiries to be carried out".
As you will note, it is also made clear on the website that, in some cases, these enquiries may take longer than average to complete. You will appreciate the need to be careful and thorough in such matters.
These enquiries have taken longer than anticipated in regard to your application, and we are sorry for the delay. We aim to make a decision on your application as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely
Passports, Citizenship & Civil Registration)
