Dual Citizenship Experience

So far the dual citizenship experience has been very slow. My wife has applied for dual citizenship, US/British. She applied in February of 2005 and they told us it would take about 6 months to make a decision. It has now been the 6 months and I contacted the British Embassy in Washington asking for an update as to how far along they have come. I got a response back very quickly that they haven't heard from the Home Office yet and that they would contact the Home Office and check to see what stage the application is in.

I know that everything on the application was properly filed out and my wife had everything the application asked for. So I'm not sure why this is taking so long.  We are hoping to travel to England in November for a visit.  It would be nice to know if her application has been accepted or not so that we know if we need to travel to Liverpool for a pledge ceremony.

We both currently live in the U.S. and are hoping to move to England next year. Anyways, any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Blessings!

Tim

I applied for registration as a British citizen last year, and it took about 4 months from start (sent off application) to finish (received certificate of registration).  I'm assuming your wife is applying for registration based on her mother being born in England?  Was there anything unusual about her application?  I'm a bit surprised that it is taking this long as the IND website is indicating it is taking on average less than 2 months for adult registrations. 

When I had a question about the status of my application, I used the following email address:

nationalityenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

I quoted my reference number, which was on the letter I received from the consulate when I got my passport, mother's passport, etc. back.  It took a few days, but they did reply to tell me that my application had been approved and sent to the consulate in LA.  Sure enough, got a phone call from the consulate 2 days later asking me to set up an appointment for my 'oath of allegiance'. 

Goodness, Johnnie37, I had no idea this hadn't come through yet.  My husband's was approved on 1 July-they had the app less than 3 months, and he got his certificate on 14 July.

Don't give up-keep calling them!  This should NOT take so long!

My situation was slightly different in that I applied for my UK Citizenship from the UK, but my application took ages...nearly 8 months in fact.  So it does happen that it takes longer than the quoted six months.  However, I think a few follow up calls couldn't hurt!

Wow, thanx for the information. It is good to hear that it can take longer and shorter than 6 months. And thanks for the email address, I will use it today!  Also, you are right about my wife applying through her mother who is still a British citizen, but living here in the U.S. Did most of you apply from the U.S. also?

Paper work seems to move slowly no matter where you reside.

I applied from the US...

I, too applied for citizenship because my mother was born in the UK and is a citizen. My application was not unusual and it took almost 9 months, but I did eventually get it.

Wow, 9 months thats 3 months longer than I have been told it would take. It has been almost 7 months now. I did send the Home Office and email last week asking how the application process is going. We are visiting some of my wofes relative in November and it would be nice to visit the Home Office and do the pledge ceremony. Do they hold pledge ceremonies at the Home Office in Liverpool?

The ceremonies are held by local councils, not the Home Office.  You can request a council of your choice, so if Liverpool is convenient, you can go there.  If I recall though, I had to request this when I did my application form.  (They still got it wrong and I had to call up and get it changed, though, so if you do get an appointment for a ceremony somehwere else, all is not lost.)

Well, thats cool. We are waiting patiently for the response from the Home Office. If we don't hear by November we will have to go to the Chicago Consulate or Washington to attend the ceremony after our trip to England. How long after the ceremony have any of you received your British passport?

You can apply for your passport the very day you get your certificate (at the ceremony).  I think mine took a couple of weeks to process and get back.  It is a separate application and fee though.

I just wanted to write about my own citizenship application process. I also applied for citizenship because my mum was born in the UK and is a citizen. My application took around 5-6 months, and I applied for my passport (which I just received in the mail today!! I'm so excited ) and I received that back within 9 days! So, all in all, I thought the process time wasn't too bad.

I just wanted to write about my own citizenship application process. I also applied for citizenship because my mum was born in the UK and is a citizen. My application took around 5-6 months, and I applied for my passport (which I just received in the mail today!! I'm so excited ) and I received that back within 9 days! So, all in all, I thought the process time wasn't too bad.

Congrats, Allie!

I know this is probably not comforting for Johnnie37, but at least it's not so bad as becoming an Italian citizen.  I was told they're a bit backlogged and so my application would take 9 months to a year!   

Yes, Congrats Allie thats awesome! We are still waiting, been waiting since Feb 11 2005. We have faith that it'll be ok, we have all our ducks in order and now are at the mercy of the Home Office. Were planning on moving to England a year from now, so we still have some time.