British citizenship
#1
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 906
British citizenship
I would like my hubby to apply for his British Citizenship before leaving the country. Trouble is that we want to do a lot of travel before leaving. Does anybody know if immigration keep your passport and documents for ages or do they just sight them and return quite quickly.
Thanks in advance
KAZ
Thanks in advance
KAZ
#2
Just Joined
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 15
Re: British citizenship
I did this way back in the 80s and the whole process took a fair bit of time - 18 months from memory. They ask for your passports towards the end of that period and in theory only keep them for a few weeks. When you send them, inform then of your intention to travel in a few weeks and they should send them back pronto.
#3
Re: British citizenship
Originally Posted by kaz Hen
I would like my hubby to apply for his British Citizenship before leaving the country. Trouble is that we want to do a lot of travel before leaving. Does anybody know if immigration keep your passport and documents for ages or do they just sight them and return quite quickly.
Thanks in advance
KAZ
Thanks in advance
KAZ
Better still - book an appointment with the 'Nationality Checking Service' and they'll likely be able to go through all your documents there and then.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
Processing times these days are usually a lot quicker than 18 months.
Two things to remember in particular:
1. If posting the application to the Home Office, don't do so just as you are about to leave the UK. By law you can only apply to the HO direct (as opposed to through a British mission overseas) if you are *physically* in the UK on the day it's received.
2. Make sure he was in the UK *physically* on the *exact* day 3 years prior to the application being made. (if the 3 year residence requirement applies). If this is not met, the application will be refused or sent back as invalid.
Jeremy
Last edited by JAJ; May 25th 2005 at 12:42 am.