Bette Davis Eyes (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} prakriti) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} brits_americans,@ 2009-07-04 20:28:00 |
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Applying for UK Citizenship - my timeline
I applied for UK citizenship on May 20th via the local council's nationality checking service. This cost an extra £45. Not sure if this fee varies per council or not but it was worth it to not have to send mine and husband's passports off for an indeterminate amount of time.
Exactly 2 weeks later, I received a letter from the Home Office acknowledging my application.
July 2nd I received a letter inviting me to a citizenship ceremony!
So, from start to end, the entire process took about 5 weeks (the invitation was actually dated June 23rd. No idea why it took a week to get to me). The actual ceremony is scheduled for July 29th.
In all my dealings with the Home Office, this was by far the least painful thing I've done. :-) As a side note, they didn't actually call my referees listed on the application. From what I've heard, its about a 50/50 chance they will contact them. Also, I applied on the basis of my spousal visa, so only had to present evidence for 3 years. For other visa types, its 5 years, which can be a pain in the ass as you have to list every single time you've entered/exited the UK during that time span.
I applied for UK citizenship on May 20th via the local council's nationality checking service. This cost an extra £45. Not sure if this fee varies per council or not but it was worth it to not have to send mine and husband's passports off for an indeterminate amount of time.
Exactly 2 weeks later, I received a letter from the Home Office acknowledging my application.
July 2nd I received a letter inviting me to a citizenship ceremony!
So, from start to end, the entire process took about 5 weeks (the invitation was actually dated June 23rd. No idea why it took a week to get to me). The actual ceremony is scheduled for July 29th.
In all my dealings with the Home Office, this was by far the least painful thing I've done. :-) As a side note, they didn't actually call my referees listed on the application. From what I've heard, its about a 50/50 chance they will contact them. Also, I applied on the basis of my spousal visa, so only had to present evidence for 3 years. For other visa types, its 5 years, which can be a pain in the ass as you have to list every single time you've entered/exited the UK during that time span.
