Citizenship application... finally

Hi there.

This is my first post. I have lived in the UK since 2004 and have had ILR since 2006, but I am only now getting round to applying for citizenship. I have filled out the application online and I am slightly worried that it seemed too easy.

Are there any common mistakes to be aware of before I submit and pay that whopping fee?

Also, has anyone else submitted an application/been granted citizenship recently? I know the website says 6 months for processing, but I wonder accurate that is?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Welcome to UKY!

The application for UK citizenship is a total breeze compared to all the applications you've had to do previously. It really is that easy, and seems like there's some kind of trick involved (there isn't).

I haven't been through the process recently, so hopefully someone can comment on what the experience is like for recent applicants.

Best of luck!

Welcome!   

It is pretty easy but I found it difficult precisely for that reason, kept fighting with myself that I must be doing something wrong.  And I wasn't mad keen on trying to remember a lifetimes worth of parking tickets but apart from that, no, it's not too hard!

Thanks so much for the replies. This has helped reassure me. I think I will give it one last read through tomorrow with fresh eyes and then send it off. It will be a relief to tick this off my list!

Best of luck for a quick result!

Hello Mamam 
I'm a newly-minted UK citizen / UK Yankee and am happy to answer your questions. I filed the application on 24 February and received notice of approval on 22 April. Processing time for citizenship applications aeems to have been relatively short recently - people who applied around the same time as I have been reporting similar processing time of two to three months. Hope it has stayed that way.

In my case, most effort went into finding suitable referees and, like Larrabee, getting details of past traffic offences etc. These need not be disclosed for visa applications but they do for citizenship. I went on a search through driving and court records that were available online for speeding tickets I incurred in my "reckless days of youth". 

In the end I couldn't find much - the records have been expunged - and I had to resort to best guesses. There is a 500-letter comment section in the application form that I could use to explain what I did.
......

Perhaps the trickiest thing you should be aware of is not the application itself, but what come afterwards and how they would impact your future travel plans. Once your application is approved, you are required to attend a citizenship ceremony within three months. You become a UK citizen formally at the ceremony, and you'll be required to cut up your BRP and send it to Home Office.

Until the citizenship ceremony you can still travel as a permanent resident with a foreign passport and BRP. After the ceremony, you are supposed to carry a UK passport to travel in and out of the country (although people have been reporting success reentering UK with a foreign passport and the naturalisation certificate).

When you apply for the first UK passport though, you'll have to send in the naturalisation certificate and your current passport(s) to the Passport Office. This means there will be a period in which you don't have a valid travel document at hand. I'm in that limbo right now waiting for my first UK passport.

Finally (phew!): typically the UK Passport Office sends you the new passport before returning your supporting documents. From what I have been reading online, the time gap between the two could be substantial (several weeks). If you are a UK Yankee like myself, if you want to travel back to the US you MUST carry your American passport as an American citizen (the US is very strict on this). This could further delay travel plans to the US.

So - as I'm experiencing right now - your travel abroad will be "significantly impacted" for several months after the citizenship application. Be aware of that, and time your application / plan your travel accordingly.

Slightly random question but does the referee forums have to be filled out and dated before you submit or can they be dated after the date of application submission?

Hello Mamam 
I'm a newly-minted UK citizen / UK Yankee and am happy to answer your questions. I filed the application on 24 February and received notice of approval on 22 April. Processing time for citizenship applications aeems to have been relatively short recently - people who applied around the same time as I have been reporting similar processing time of two to three months. Hope it has stayed that way.

In my case, most effort went into finding suitable referees and, like Larrabee, getting details of past traffic offences etc. These need not be disclosed for visa applications but they do for citizenship. I went on a search through driving and court records that were available online for speeding tickets I incurred in my "reckless days of youth". 

In the end I couldn't find much - the records have been expunged - and I had to resort to best guesses. There is a 500-letter comment section in the application form that I could use to explain what I did.
......

Perhaps the trickiest thing you should be aware of is not the application itself, but what come afterwards and how they would impact your future travel plans. Once your application is approved, you are required to attend a citizenship ceremony within three months. You become a UK citizen formally at the ceremony, and you'll be required to cut up your BRP and send it to Home Office.

Until the citizenship ceremony you can still travel as a permanent resident with a foreign passport and BRP. After the ceremony, you are supposed to carry a UK passport to travel in and out of the country (although people have been reporting success reentering UK with a foreign passport and the naturalisation certificate).

When you apply for the first UK passport though, you'll have to send in the naturalisation certificate and your current passport(s) to the Passport Office. This means there will be a period in which you don't have a valid travel document at hand. I'm in that limbo right now waiting for my first UK passport.

Finally (phew!): typically the UK Passport Office sends you the new passport before returning your supporting documents. From what I have been reading online, the time gap between the two could be substantial (several weeks). If you are a UK Yankee like myself, if you want to travel back to the US you MUST carry your American passport as an American citizen (the US is very strict on this). This could further delay travel plans to the US.

So - as I'm experiencing right now - your travel abroad will be "significantly impacted" for several months after the citizenship application. Be aware of that, and time your application / plan your travel accordingly.

This is so helpful! Thank you so much. I am hoping it will all happen in a similar timeframe. I will make sure to apply for the UK passport as soon as I am eligible. I know about travel with the two passports as we do this with my two children. Luckily we are spending a few weeks with family in the US this summer so there should not be any immediate pressure to get back for a visit.

I have never had a speeding ticket (amazingly!) or been in trouble with the law so I haven't had to track down anything like that. And luckily my two best friends here are a teacher and an occupational therapist, so that should suffice for suitable referees.

Can I just clarify that when applying online, I do not need to send in physical copies of my documentation, but I will upload copies after I have paid? And it is only after I have paid when I will be aksed to book a biometrics appointment?

Slightly random question but does the referee forums have to be filled out and dated before you submit or can they be dated after the date of application submission?

Good question. I will see if anyone comes back on this. :-)

I have never had a speeding ticket (amazingly!) or been in trouble with the law so I haven't had to track down anything like that. And luckily my two best friends here are a teacher and an occupational therapist, so that should suffice for suitable referees.

Good for you! 

Can I just clarify that when applying online, I do not need to send in physical copies of my documentation, but I will upload copies after I have paid? And it is only after I have paid when I will be aksed to book a biometrics appointment?

Yes, that's correct. All scans and uploads.

Slightly random question but does the referee forums have to be filled out and dated before you submit or can they be dated after the date of application submission?

No need to have the referee forms filled and signed before the date of your application. Mine were signed on 27 February and 2 March respectively, for an application that was filed on 24 February. The referee forms are to be scanned and uploaded in time for your biometric appointment, just like other supporting documents.

So I have finally pressed send. Fingers crossed I haven't messed up on anything. Thanks for answering my question. :-)

Good luck! Hope all goes well smoothly.

Congratulations on sending your last direct £0.01 to the Home Office.

Good luck!!

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement.

I have just had my biometrics appointment this morning, as my ILR was from 2006 in previous passport and had never done biometrics. Does anyone know if I will be able to view and prove my status in the country after this? I am supposed to start an MA in September and need to pass an enhanced DBS, but the DBS folks won't accept the ILR in my previous passport. So many rules changed after I was granted residency, but I have been blissfully unaware. I am so hoping there is a solution that doesn't take months.