Applying for Naturalisation! YAY! :D

Thanks for the explanation.  So basically a referee is like the people who wrote a character letter for me back when I applied for the initial spouse visa.  A bit different but in an apple vs orange kind of way.  In my mind I know what I mean. lol

I don't recall having to do a character letter when I applied for my initial spouse visa but not sure if maybe things have changed before/after I applied maybe but I imagine that yeah, it's probably similar to what you had to provide.

I don't recall having to do a character letter when I applied for my initial spouse visa but not sure if maybe things have changed before/after I applied maybe but I imagine that yeah, it's probably similar to what you had to provide.

You don't need a character letter for a spouse visa. 

You don't need a character letter for a spouse visa. 

haha thought as much but I have no clue how redhawk applied or when so didn't want to make assumptions that it's still the same as it was when I applied. Either way, I imagine it's sort of the same in a way.

Thanks for the explanation.  So basically a referee is like the people who wrote a character letter for me back when I applied for the initial spouse visa.  A bit different but in an apple vs orange kind of way.  In my mind I know what I mean. lol

Yeah, it's like a character reference, except they don't even have to write anything other than their details and how they know you.  And they have to sign the form affirming that they have known you and are eligible to act as your referee.

What character letter for spouse visa...?

What character letter for spouse visa...?

Character letters cannot be considered for a spousal visa and so do not need to be included.

The ONLY personal letter that can be considered for a spousal visa is the letter from your sponsor confirming your relationship and that they meet all the visa requirements.



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Let me give a bit more explanation about my earlier post about a referee being like the character letter for my spouse visa.

In 2015 I spoke with a former immigration barrister & retired judge who had at the time 30 years experience in immigration & had founded a monthly support group for people wanting to move to the UK.

His advice was to include 2 character letters from people who knew both myself & my partner along with the spousal letter. He said HO was continually changing the rules about what to include & what not to & even he struggled to keep up with the changes. So better to include & not need then vice versa.

So I took his advice. If HO didnt want to read them that's fine; they were back to back in the binder sleeve so they only had to flip passed.

He advised: a black sleeved binder, 4 photos, 2 letters. So I did. Now when I applied HO had stopped using New York as a go between because of all the problems people are now having again. My stuff went straight to Sheffield.

Dont know if they looked at the letters or not. But I would've been in a right mess without the binder because UPS in South Carolina opened my parcel but didn't retape it & my passport fell onto the step when they delivered.

I appreciate all the help & advice I get here in the forum. Y'all do a lot for us. But I cant discount the wisdom of 30 years experience either.

His advice was to include 2 character letters from people who knew both myself & my partner along with the spousal letter. He said HO was continually changing the rules about what to include & what not to & even he struggled to keep up with the changes. So better to include & not need then vice versa.

I’ve been on this forum for over 12 years and have seen multiple rule changes, including a complete overhaul of the spousal visa requirements. I also managed to keep up with the rules just fine, even though this forum is a hobby for me and I have a separate full-time career.

Character letters have never been considered, and actually, less is more when it comes to visa applications... the more unnecessary documents you include, the more likely something important will get missed.

He advised: a black sleeved binder, 4 photos, 2 letters. So I did. Now when I applied HO had stopped using New York as a go between because of all the problems people are now having again. My stuff went straight to Sheffield.

Sadly, all of that was bad advice.

- binders, folders and sleeves should not be used at all as they create more work for Sheffield
- no character letters can be considered
- only 1 photo should be included

Also, that’s not what happened with New York. The problems they are having now have never happened before.

Until about 2010, spousal visas were processed either in Los Angeles, New York or Chicago, depending on what state you lived in. Then until March 2013, they were processed in New York only.

From March 2013, they moved all the spousal visa processing to Sheffield and you had to mail everything directly to Sheffield.

However, they didn’t update the online application with the new Sheffield address, so people kept accidentally sending everything to New York. For a few weeks, New York forwarded the packages to Sheffield in the mail, but then they stopped doing that and just returned the packages to the applicants and told them to mail to Sheffield instead.

This new system of mailing to New York and New York scanning everything to Sheffield was only introduced in September 2018... it had never been done before that date.

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So application is now all filled out

Got the professional reference sorted (friend's sister is an accountant and agreed to be my second referee as she did for our other friend - so she knows what to expect and is fine with it all).

Everything is ready to go but I'm holding off on paying and booking an appointment because I need their referee declarations (which includes them needing to take passport photos) first. Not sure when they'll get a chance to get that sorted (might not be until next weekend at the earliest) and don't want to book an appointment in case something comes up and it takes longer. As it'll probably end up being £1,450 after paying £100 for another "out of hours" appointment (I know how Sopra Steria works now....cheeky buggers) so I don't want to risk throwing that money away due to the referee declarations missing.


Am I right to understand that all I need documents wise is:

• My passport
• My LitUK pass certificate
• Marriage certificate
• BRP card
• husband's passport
• Referee declarations x 2

My understanding is that the passport/BRP also count as proof of living in the UK (it appears mail is NOT what they're looking for in this one) and, as usual, proof of language qualification/right to live in the UK?

At least the new process includes the £20 biometric charge in it.....because they are just So generous to us :p

Everything is ready to go but I'm holding off on paying and booking an appointment because I need their referee declarations (which includes them needing to take passport photos) first.

It's your passport photo that goes on the referee pages, not theirs. It's so that everyone knows that they are talking about you.


5. Referees and Identity
Write your name and date of birth on the back of a photograph of yourself. This should then be glued into the space aside.
This part of the form is to be filled in by your referees once your photograph has been affixed aside as explained above

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/766542/form-an-12-18.pdf

It's your passport photo that goes on the referee pages, not theirs. It's so that everyone knows that they are talking about you.


5. Referees and Identity
Write your name and date of birth on the back of a photograph of yourself. This should then be glued into the space aside.
This part of the form is to be filled in by your referees once your photograph has been affixed aside as explained above

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/766542/form-an-12-18.pdf

Oh I totally missed that as just opened up the doc quickly and went “I’ll read this later...”. Thanks for pointing out haha


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Took longer than I wanted to to submit the applications but lots happening at the moment (not just me but with one of my referees who's just found out she's preggo! ) buuuuut I've done it! Just submitted my application for naturalisation today! I've double checked it but didn't have my husband look it over so now I'm paranoid I might've typo'd something LOL but I'm hoping if I've missed something small they might not notice hah :p

Appointment with Sopra Steria is next weekend! Fingers crossed it goes smoothly!

Took longer than I wanted to to submit the applications but lots happening at the moment (not just me but with one of my referees who's just found out she's preggo! ) buuuuut I've done it! Just submitted my application for naturalisation today! I've double checked it but didn't have my husband look it over so now I'm paranoid I might've typo'd something LOL but I'm hoping if I've missed something small they might not notice hah :p

Appointment with Sopra Steria is next weekend! Fingers crossed it goes smoothly!

Yay! Good luck! 

Yay! Good luck! 

Thanks Larrabee! It feels SOOO odd to provide so few documents hahaha like I can ALMOST count them on one hand vs. having a thick folder for them all LOL

Thanks Larrabee! It feels SOOO odd to provide so few documents hahaha like I can ALMOST count them on one hand vs. having a thick folder for them all LOL

I honestly found the citizenship application so stressful. The rules are different, the requirements are different.... By ILR I had the visa stuff down but this was a whole different ballgame! And don't get me started on trying to remember the parking tickets!   

I honestly found the citizenship application so stressful. The rules are different, the requirements are different.... By ILR I had the visa stuff down but this was a whole different ballgame! And don't get me started on trying to remember the parking tickets!   

haha I actually found it wasn't toooo bad honestly (mainly because I've only been driving in the UK for 2 years I think it is and definitely have no tickets I'm aware of - which helped!). I thought it was quite straight forward but maybe it's because I had JUST done my ILR on this same "new process" digital format. Had filled the application out back when I initially posted in Feb so this time I just went in to update some details as my friend got a new passport number and had found they added a few questions about the English Language requirement as well as if I'm here via an EEA citizen (which I am not) so I thought I best submit before any more questions are added LOL (guessing this is to do in prep with Brexit).