Questions on Citizenship and First UK passport

I have a few questions on the time period before getting your citizenship invitation and getting your first UK passport.  

Essentially, I applied for citizenship back at the beginning of September.  My timeline was going to be tight leading up to Christmas (and needing my US passport) but it SHOULD have gone ok.  Unfortunately, my citizenship was decided, per my invitation letter, on 30 September but it didn't actually arrive to me until late October - so I am a whole month behind for no reason.  I HAVE to travel from end of December - mid-January and I am trying to figure out my options.

I know that you are supposed to have your ceremony within 3 months.  Again my invitations was dated nearly a month before I actually received it, so it puts my 3 months right in my travel period.  Does anyone know if the 3 months can be extended?  What happens if it cannot - do I have to apply all over again?

My other thought was to attend the ceremony and apply for the UK passport by the end of this week - though I have to travel within 5 weeks of that date.  According to the timelines thread, the passports are actually being processed within 3-4 weeks so it is possible it may come back.  Obviously, you have to send off your certificate and US passport for your UK passport app - but aren't your supporting documents returned MUCH earlier than your UK interview is had/passport is returned?  Is the US passport and certificate part of what is returned?  Worse case scenario and the UK passport doesn't come back in time, can I travel out on my US passport and have the UK passport mailed to me abroad once it is completed?

Are there any other options that I haven't thought of?  I am going to call UKBA tomorrow and discuss the first option (though I also need my US passport in February, so it isn't really the best choice) but I wanted to see if others had any practical experience.

As an aside, if I use the Check and Send option at the Post Office, is it right that they print your passport application for you?  That is how the website reads but presumably you either need to take it away to have someone certify it or you need to bring them with you.  Can anyone clarify how this works?

I think the only thing you have to worry about is booking the citizenship ceremony within the 3 month period. There shouldn't be any rush to get a passport.

I thought from other threads that after your ceremony, your ILR is invalid and travel then needs to be on a UK passport.  Is this not the case?  If I have to travel on a UK passport, then I will either have to postpone the citizenship ceremony beyond the 3 months or somehow mail my UK passport to myself (if I would get my US passport back for my travel).  Not travelling is not an option.

I think you will have to apply to the Home Office for an extension.

Your citizenship ceremony must take pace within 3 months of the date on your letter. If you do not then you'll have to reapply for Naturalisation per the AN Form Guide from UKBA.

From page 32 titled 'What we expect from you'

If your application is successful and you are living in the UK, you will be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony. You will receive an invitation letter from the Home Office and this will confirm the local authority you should contact to arrange your ceremony. We expect you to arrange to attend a ceremony within 3 months of receiving your invitation otherwise it will expire and you will have to reapply for naturalisation and pay a further processing fee.

Remember that for first UK passports you must attend an indentity interview before the passport will be issued. Also you're correct that your ILR will not allow you entry back into the UK once you attend your Naturalisation ceremony as you are a British Citizen and would require a British Passport. British Passports are taking about 4-6 weeks so if you can get your Ceremony ASAP you could get your new passport before you need to travel.

My ceremony is tomorrow but I won't have time to get the passport if it goes closer over 4 weeks.

As to my original question, are there ever instances where extensions are granted and do you get your us passport and citizenship certificate back as part of your supporting docs that are returned fairly early on in the uk passport timeline? 

According to recent timelines it only takes a few days to get the documents back after submitting the application (I'd definitely use Check & Send through the Post Office and do it immediately after your Ceremony tomorrow) so it looks like about 2 weeks total if you can get a passport interview scheduled as soon as you get the letter.

Here's the thread with the timelines: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=45110.msg913542#msg913542

According to recent timelines it only takes a few days to get the documents back after submitting the application (I'd definitely use Check & Send through the Post Office and do it immediately after your Ceremony tomorrow) so it looks like about 2 weeks total if you can get a passport interview scheduled as soon as you get the letter.

I plan to use Check & Send but I can't do it immediately.  YOu still need someone to certify your application and I have to arrange for that to happen.  The weekend would be the earliest and a miracle.  You can't do it in advance because you have to have your certificate number to submit the application.

And I still don't understand how Check & Send works (one of my original queries).  Do they print the application and you can take it away for the certification or does it operate on the basis that you are bringing that person with you?

And can anyone confirm that your US passport and certificate are returned as part of the supporting docs.  If those come back straightaway, I can always have a mate mail me the UK passport, if it came to that.

For Check & Send you complete the form, (you can request one to be mailed to you or pick up an application at your local post office that does check & send) have your referee complete sign their portion & countersign your photo then you take it fully complete with your photo & docs to the Post Office and they make sure you've filled it out properly & that your photo meets the requirements and then they send it off to be processed.

How to apply for a passport from DirectGov.

You get your Naturalisation Certificate at your Ceremony.

I was just coming back to edit my post, I was reading the website wrong and thought it meant that you could get your completed online app printed by the Check & Send office - which didn't make sense.  Now I understand it is just getting the blank app itself.  That saves 5 days at least.

Your citizenship ceremony must take pace within 3 months of the date on your letter. If you do not then you'll have to reapply for Naturalisation per the AN Form Guide from UKBA.

From page 32 titled 'What we expect from you'
Remember that for first UK passports you must attend an indentity interview before the passport will be issued. Also you're correct that your ILR will not allow you entry back into the UK once you attend your Naturalisation ceremony as you are a British Citizen and would require a British Passport. British Passports are taking about 4-6 weeks so if you can get your Ceremony ASAP you could get your new passport before you need to travel.

Can you please show me where it says you MUST enter the UK using a British passport if you are a British citizen? I am in a similar situation, but after much searching on the internet, I have yet to find it written anywhere "concrete" - just from message board postings.

I am of course familiar with the "US citizen must enter the US using a US passport" law, but that is because it is clearly listed on the US Embassy's website, along with being clearly stated in US law.

Can you please show me where it says you MUST enter the UK using a British passport if you are a British citizen? I am in a similar situation, but after much searching on the internet, I have yet to find it written anywhere "concrete" - just from message board postings.

It's not written anywhere. However once you naturalise your ILR becomes invalid and if you don't want to be stamped in as a visitor and subject to the visitor restrictions such as no working (paid or unpaid) and no public funds you need to enter on your British Passport.

Can you please show me where it says you MUST enter the UK using a British passport if you are a British citizen? I am in a similar situation, but after much searching on the internet, I have yet to find it written anywhere "concrete" - just from message board postings.

From what I have read, it isn't a requirement to enter on a British passport.  I think the crux of the matter is that if you enter on your US passport instead, you don't have a valid resident visa (because resident visas don't apply to UK citizens).

So if you were say a US and UK citizen living outside the uK and you came for a visit, you could enter on either passport (being stamped as a tourist on the US one).  There is no real implication.  But if you are a living in the UK and enter on a US passport, the best you can do is be stamped as a tourist, which would be completely wrong for your circumstances.    

That being said, I know others have traveled on the US passport with the citizenship certificate.  I know that others, and myself, have gotten advice on this issue straight from UKBA as well (I think RonH most recently and me when I called yesterday).  The problem is that any phone advice can still be wrong and it isn't blooming written ANYWHERE one way or the other.

ETA: xposted

It's not written anywhere. However once you naturalise your ILR becomes invalid and if you don't want to be stamped in as a visitor and subject to the visitor restrictions such as no working (paid or unpaid) and no public funds you need to enter on your British Passport.

Ok, not to be pedantic, but where does it say ILR becomes invalid? I understand the theory behind this but generally it is also written down somewhere if it is an actual rule...and one I have yet to find.

Also, assuming the "ILR does become invalid" is written down in law/guidance, surely you could just work/claim public funds by showing your British passport once in the UK? As you are, in fact, a British citizen? I suppose it could cause headaches as "theoretically" you could be flagged as an overstayer on the non-UK passport but surely, once you showed a British passport, it would be cleared up.

Ok, not to be pedantic, but where does it say ILR becomes invalid? I understand the theory behind this but generally it is also written down somewhere if it is an actual rule...and one I have yet to find.

Also, assuming the "ILR does become invalid" is written down in law/guidance, surely you could just work/claim public funds by showing your British passport once in the UK? As you are, in fact, a British citizen? I suppose it could cause headaches as "theoretically" you could be flagged as an overstayer on the non-UK passport but surely, once you showed a British passport, it would be cleared up.

The reason your visa is invalidated once you Naturalise is because you become a Citizen and Citizens don't require visas. It's not an issue if you don't plan on travelling because I know a quite a few British that don't have passports and don't travel. But it's the TRAVELLING that causes the issue because you have to be let back into the country. Thing about it this way, if you were a normal British Citizen with no dual nationality what would you need to travel in and out of the UK...A British Passport.

If you want to take that risk then go for it. Personally, once my application & processed and I attend my ceremony the first thing I will do is send in my British passport application as it's not a risk that I want to take.