My passport interview:
This is not going to be everyone's experience, but since this seems to be a BIT exceptional, I wanted to make sure that it's not repeated.
I filed my paperwork 2 days after my citizenship ceremony. I heard back a couple of weeks later. I called and was told they were all booked up. I called back in about an hour to find out if they had appointments outside of London, and suddenly a London appointment had opened.
The woman who booked the appointment said that I would receive a letter which would say to report to the passport office near Victoria. She said to disregard this map as first time passport applicants are being interviewed at Hannibal House in Elephant and Castle. They hadn't changed the letter for some reason. She sent me a map via email of E&C and how to get to Hannibal House. My appointment was for 2:45, and I was to arrive at least 20 minutes early.
Since I am not very good with London transport (at least not the Tube) on my own and Elephant and Castle always seems to confuse me, I left really early. I got there around 12:30 after a fairly smooth trip there. I spent almost two hours browsing the shops, drinking tea, writing letters... I would soon regret this.
At about 2:20 I went up to Hannibal House and the security guard told me to wait there and ran after someone going into the lift without clearance. He then said, "I don't know why they keep doing this to people..." and explained that I was in the wrong place. I said no, the woman on the phone had told me that it was definitely at Hannibal House. He showed me a notice on the door. He suggested I go to the Victoria office and explain.
I somehow managed to navigate the Tube on my own (surprising myself) in sheer panic. I made it to the Victoria office a little after 3. I complained. They filed a report. I was sweaty, nervous, and my eyebrow did the stress twitchy thing. I hope that didn't make the interviewer wonder. After navigating security (metal detector, bag xray), checking in on the first floor, then verifying I was the same person in the picture, spelling my name, I was told to wait for my number to be called and went to a big room (compared to the little cubicles everyone else was going to) for my interview.
The questions (that I remember):
Full name and how it's spelt.
Address
Email I used on form
How I submitted form
My phone number (I memorised it just for the interview...I can never remember it)
Did I pay for special delivery of documents?
What documents I sent with application
Country of birth
Place of birth
Have I received my documents back?
Am I a dual citizen?
Date and place of naturalisation
Have I ever been known by any other name?
How long have I lived at my current address?
Who else lives there?
My DOB
Husband's DOB
What bank account do I hold? How long has it been open?
My referee's name, occupation, and how I knew him
My name is a slightly unusual spelling, so he asked about that in a round about way.
He asked about my parents, and then mentioned that I had left that bit blank, and I explained I didn't know that I had to fill it out, and the C&S people said I didn't.
I think that is it (not all in order). I had to sign a digital pad. He said I should hear back in a week, but the woman at the info desk said 4-10 working days. He then talked about getting regular credit checks to make sure no one has stolen my ID.
Crazy amount of stress to get the passport. I have to say that this has been the weirdest part of my journey to become British. It's a bit like that film Brazil. I do have to say that the people at Identity and Passport service were friendly, even if one of their members sent me to the wrong place.
