Citizenship Application Question

Hello there!

Deep breaths, it's quite easy!!

Argh, I don't know... from this end it seems confusing and scary and impossible! His BRP card is only valid until February 11th, so that's adding an extra layer of scary. But thank you so, so much for your help!

In a perfect world it should be done in person, however hypothetically you could do it by email. I think a lot of people probably do.

Scan the referee declaration with the photo on it and email to your referee chum.
Have your chum fill it in and sign it  (one form for each referee)
Your chum then scans the signed copy and emails it back to you.
Submit that signed and scanned copy with your application.

They're both sending them back to us in the post, so we'll have the hard copies.

If you are applying online you won't need to send in hard copies. If you are getting Sopra Steria to scan your docs you will need hardcopies.

Does that make sense?

I did have a question about this... because of the "deadline" of his BRP card, should we upload them so they have everything before Feb 11th? I don't understand the process for getting an appointment for his biometrics, but I know that could take a while. I just want everything to be completely fool-proof. Also, can some documents be uploaded and some taken in person, or does it all need to be done in one go, either way?

Good luck

Matt

Thank you again, and huge, huge congratulations on getting your citizenship. Very chuffed for you!

Hi Munchkin,  Citzenship is the easiest application you will do.  You may well get invited to upload everything using the IDV app so no appointment will be necessary. It is super easy.

I put together a complete reference doc - it explains everything and is up-to-date.  If you get stuck just ask, the experts Ksand and Larrabee are awesome.

https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=100371.0



Citizenship Application after ILR SET(M) Reference Doc
Updated  2nd Dec 2022 - Our Citizenship Approval came through today - 12 weeks after application.

Any help or info to improve this doc is appreciated.

CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION/PASSPORT - (DIFFERENT FROM ILR)
1) Before you can apply for a passport you need to become a UK citizen by applying for citizenship and then attending a UK citizenship ceremony.
2) If you are married to a UK citizen, you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have ILR as long as you meet the 3-year residency requirements.
3) It costs about £1300 for citizenship and can take up to 6 months for processing. You then have 3 months to attend to citizenship ceremony after that.
4) Once you have UK citizenship, you can apply for a UK passport, which is about £80 and takes up to a few weeks for processing.

CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION
1)   Fill out the Application Form
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-naturalise-as-a-british-citizen-form-an/apply-online-form-an
2)   There are links to the Referee Forms.
One referee should be a person of any nationality who has professional standing, such as a minister of religion, civil servant, or a member of a professional body such as an accountant or solicitor (who is not representing you with this application). The other referee must normally be the holder of a British citizen passport and either a professional person or over the age of 25.
You will need their:
• Name
• DOB
• Passport Number
• Phone Number
• Email Address
• Profession
• Address
• Residential addresses for 3 years
• Relationship to applicant
3)   Submit Form + Pay Fee (£1330 in August 2022)
4)   Mandatory Actions – includes Referee Forms (again) + Family Consent for Verification Checks form.
5)   Sopra Steria. You love it.
Look out for an email sent to your registered UKVCAS email address called:
"Book your UKVCAS appointment now" or "Download the UKVCAS IDV app now" (IDV = UKVCAS Identity Verification)
You can then go ahead and either book a UKVCAS appointment or download and use the IDV app so UKVI can process your application
If you have not received an email within 14 days inviting you to book an appointment or use the IDV app, get in touch with UKVCAS.Register and book Biometric Appointment.
You will not be able to use the IDV app unless you receive an invitation from UKVCAS. If you are using the IDV app, don’t book a UKVCAS appointment.
6)   Upload Docs before Biometric Appointment (must complete at least 48hours before) or take the docs to the Appointment if you have booked/paid to have them scanned.

Citizenship is a completely different type of application and is in no way comparable to a spousal visa, FLR or ILR.
It is not a visa and it has almost no requirements. It is the easiest application you will fill in.

For citizenship (if married to a UK citizen), the only requirements are:
- Hold ILR.
- Married to a UK citizen.
- 3-year residency requirement (in UK 3 years prior to application date and no more than 270 days outside the UK in last 3 years) .
- Proof of Living in the UK for 3 years if applying as the spouse of a British Citizen (or 5 years if applying in your own right). (For most applications this will be your passports but if your passports do not confirm this, letters from employers, educational establishments or other Government Departments indicating presence in UK.)
- Good character requirement (no unspent convictions and you have been paying your taxes).
- 2 referees to confirm your identity.

None of the spousal visa requirements apply to citizenship. There is:
- No accommodation requirement
- No financial requirement
- No relationship requirement (other than your marriage certificate)

Unless you are self-employed, pretty much the only documents you should need for citizenship are:
- Applicant’s passport
- UK spouse’s passport
- ILR BRP card
- Marriage certificate
- Life in the UK test reference number
- 2 referee forms
- Consent for Verification Checks form


Citizenship Timelines.
Time from completing Citizenship Application to Biometrics - approx 21 Days according to one recent Applicant.
There is no Priority Service available for Citizenship Applications because it is not a visa.
*Average Citizenship Application processing times 8-12 weeks (Nov 2022)*

Hi Munchkin,  Citzenship is the easiest application you will do.  You may well get invited to upload everything using the IDV app so no appointment will be necessary. It is super easy.

Hi, I've read that thread, thank you so much!

I have downloaded the IDV App, but it's saying "This account has no cases enabled for mobile access." and won't let me log in.

Do we need to confirm the citizenship application before we book an appointment? Not being able to sign into the app is worrying me because there are no appointments until February 20th. Ugh. Feeling kind of sick about all of this.

Hi, I've read that thread, thank you so much!

I have downloaded the IDV App, but it's saying "This account has no cases enabled for mobile access." and won't let me log in.

Do we need to confirm the citizenship application before we book an appointment? Not being able to sign into the app is worrying me because there are no appointments until February 20th. Ugh. Feeling kind of sick about all of this.

You can’t book biometrics until after you have submitted the online application and paid the citizenship fee.

And you can only use the IDV app if you have been invited to use it by UKVI, after you have applied.

Once you have applied online, you will be sent an email with a registration code for the UKVCAS website.

You then register on the UKVCAS website, and once you have an account and have entered your application number, you can book a biometrics appointment.

However, you may be asked to wait a few days to find out if you are eligible to use the IDV app or if you need to book an in-person biometrics appointment through the UKVCAS website.


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You can’t book biometrics until after you have submitted the online application and paid the citizenship fee.

And you can only use the IDV app if you have been invited to use it by UKVI, after you have applied.

Once you have applied online, you will be sent an email with a registration code for the UKVCAS website.

You then register on the UKVCAS website, and once you have an account and have entered your application number, you can book a biometrics appointment.

However, you may be asked to wait a few days to find out if you are eligible to use the IDV app or if you need to book an in-person biometrics appointment through the UKVCAS website.


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Oh my goodness, waiting a few days would have driven me nuts. We paid for the application and booked a biometrics appointment and, miracle of miracles, we got an appointment for next Friday in Birmingham. We got the documents check service and the documents scan service and got one of the Express appointments so hopefully hopefully it will be as painless as possible.

Now we'll spend the rest of the week collecting as much documentation as we can - we'd rather take too much than not enough - and breathing deeply.

Can I ask: has anyone been to the Birmingham one? What's it like? I'm even nervous about that! I swear I used to be a normal person but my nerves are just shredded apparently.

Thank you again, both of you, for all your help. I can't tell you how grateful I am.

 
Ksand is the most knowledgeable and best authority on all this.   I just try and fill in some gaps.

You have the ILR, so all the difficult work is done.
Citizenship is practically a formality so dont lose any sleep over it!!

Also the British application is binary: You will get it if you qualify.  Some other countries Citizenship (like Singapore) are discretionary which is a whole another level of pain in the butt after the 8 year process...!

you are in great shape....  good luck

Now we'll spend the rest of the week collecting as much documentation as we can - we'd rather take too much than not enough - and breathing deeply.

Please don't do this.

Citizenship requires almost no documentation and taking too much (that is not needed) may cause confusion and might mean that the important documents get missed.

All you should need to take is:
- his current passport
- his previous passport (to show his 3 years of residency along with the current passport)
- his BRP card
- your current UK passport
- marriage certificate
- self-employment: his most recent HM Revenue & Customs Self Assessment Statement of Account (to show he has paid his taxes)
- 2 referee forms
(- you will have already included the Life in the UK test reference number in the online application)

Ksand is the most knowledgeable and best authority on all this.   I just try and fill in some gaps.

You have the ILR, so all the difficult work is done.
Citizenship is practically a formality so dont lose any sleep over it!!

Also the British application is binary: You will get it if you qualify.  Some other countries Citizenship (like Singapore) are discretionary which is a whole another level of pain in the butt after the 8 year process...!

you are in great shape....  good luck

Thanks so much!

Please don't do this.

Citizenship requires almost no documentation and taking too much (that is not needed) may cause confusion and might mean that the important documents get missed.

Okay, I'll heed this advice, thank you. When we got his ILR we took copies of everything along with the originals - should we do that with this, too?

All you should need to take is:
- 2 referee forms
- consent to checks forms from the online application

ksand, I'm a little confused about this... the referee forms and the consent to check forms - what's the difference? We gave each of our referees the form with husband's photo for them to sign and date. Is that the referee forms and the consent to check forms, or have we missed something else?

Thank you!

Okay, I'll heed this advice, thank you. When we got his ILR we took copies of everything along with the originals - should we do that with this, too?

No, you can just take the originals.

They will scan the originals and hand them back to you, so there's no need to have copies with you as well.

ksand, I'm a little confused about this... the referee forms and the consent to check forms - what's the difference? We gave each of our referees the form with husband's photo for them to sign and date. Is that the referee forms and the consent to check forms, or have we missed something else?

The referee forms and consent to checks forms are two different things.

The consent to checks forms are part of the applications for FLR and ILR, but I don't actually know if they are needed for citizenship or not - if they are, you will have been asked to sign them as part of the online application - I saw them in mbmoffat's document list, so I included them.

The consent to checks form are just declarations that you and your husband each sign to confirm that you are happy for UKVI to carry out checks on the documents where both your names are listed (i.e. on bank statements and utility bills). As not many documents are required for citizenship, they may not be part of this application.

If the consent to checks forms are required, there are 3 parts to them:
Part 1 is signed by the applicant
Part 2 is signed by the UK sponsor
Part 3 is not signed by anyone as it is for third party financial sponsors (which are not allowed for most applications anyway)

No, you can just take the originals.

They will scan the originals and hand them back to you, so there's no need to have copies with you as well.

The referee forms and consent to checks forms are two different things.

The consent to checks forms are part of the applications for FLR and ILR, but I don't actually know if they are needed for citizenship or not - if they are, you will have been asked to sign them as part of the online application - I saw them in mbmoffat's document list, so I included them.

The consent to checks form are just declarations that you and your husband each sign to confirm that you are happy for UKVI to carry out checks on the documents where both your names are listed (i.e. on bank statements and utility bills). As not many documents are required for citizenship, they may not be part of this application.

If the consent to checks forms are required, there are 3 parts to them:
Part 1 is signed by the applicant
Part 2 is signed by the UK sponsor
Part 3 is not signed by anyone as it is for third party financial sponsors (which are not allowed for most applications anyway)

No, there wasn't anything like that throughout the application process, but I'm worried maybe I missed something?

Do you suggest I try to find a copy of the form and download and have us both sign them, just in case? Very much trying to dot our Is and cross our Ts with this.

Thank you again.

No, there wasn't anything like that throughout the application process, but I'm worried maybe I missed something?

Do you suggest I try to find a copy of the form and download and have us both sign them, just in case? Very much trying to dot our Is and cross our Ts with this.

You haven't missed anything. If you were not asked to complete the consent to checks forms, then they are not required for citizenship applications. I apologise for putting that on the list - I have removed it.

Those forms are only usually needed for visa applications where you are providing utility bills, bank statements, council tax bills etc... none of which are needed for a citizenship application.

Please stop worrying about this application - it is not a visa and is the simplest and easiest immigration-related application you will ever make .

Pretty much everyone who applies is surprised by how easy it is and how few documents are needed .

Thanks for all the info in this thread.

With regard to proving residency in the UK, I have a quick question.

My passport was stolen in 2018 in a burglary (they took all the coats on my coat rack, and it was in my pocket). Because of this, I no longer have the passport I entered the UK on. What is regarded as the best proof of this in this situation? I've been in the UK for 10+ years. I can get letters from former/current employers to cover 5 years, but what would they need to confirm - just that I was employed there and was... physically present during that time? Is there something else that would be more appropriate?