My UK citizenship application

Today I took one of the last steps towards becoming a UK Citizen: I enrolled my biometrics for my citizenship application which I submitted last week*. And now, I wait. And wait. And wait some more to learn if my application has been successful.

Note: My application is based on my ILR which I was granted last November on the 10-year resident route. I may have had other options, but this was the path of least resistance.

As others have said, the application itself was straightforward. I had started it several weeks prior, just to see what type of information I would need to include. It was mostly simple: My personal information related to my name (birth plus marriage) and my parents’ names, birthdates, and birthplaces. I passed my Life in the UK test previously, so I just needed to confirm my test ID number.

The hardest part was checking back on dates for previous visa applications – of which there have been many! Thankfully, I’ve saved all of my visa paperwork (mostly digital now) over the years so it was easy to access that information. I also needed to enter the dates I’ve been outside the UK over the last 5 years. But I had done that the year before for my Indefinite Leave to Remain application (I needed 10 years at that time) so I copied those dates, adding trips from the last 12 months.

The frustrating part of the application was the referees. I understood it would all be online and they’d be sent a link to my digital photo to confirm. Instead, I had to enter all their details: titles, names, addresses, birthdates, passport numbers, phone numbers, email addresses, DNA sequencing, lavatory schedules… the Home Office wants to know everything. Then, I needed to print out the most rudimentary form (see form here) to which I needed to attach a photo. They then had to sign the form so I could scan it and digitally upload it. What a faff. (But it’s done.)

Once the form was complete, I reviewed it a few dozen times before clicking the submit button to pay my £1,630 fee. Then I needed to book my biometrics appointment which didn’t incur an extra fee as it did for other applications I’ve made. Surprisingly, there were several appointments available, all within a couple of days. I selected an appointment for a week later because I still needed to meet with my referees to get their signatures and compile all the documents I needed to scan and upload.

Note: I uploaded the following documents:

(1) Current and most recent expired passports (every page) to show all travels within the citizenship “5-year” window and my ILR “10-year” window
(2) P60s for the last 10 years plus a letter from my employer
(3) A single PDF with my marriage certificate and husband’s birth and death certificates to show name change and marital status related to British spouse
(4) A single PDF with copies of all my UK visas over the years
(5) My two referee letters

My biometrics appointment was in Edinburgh at 9 am this morning. They requested that you arrive 15 minutes early and I arrived about 25 minutes early because of the bus times. I was taken straight through to the processing room and waited less than 5 minutes to be seen for the first stage: A review of my documents and a scan of my current passport. I then went to the next area where I waited for less than 5 minutes before being invited forward for my biometrics. That was a simple photograph and a digital copy of my fingerprints.

Because I arrived early and was seen straight away, I left the building before my official appointment time. I love it when that happens. (It’s also why I try to get the early appointments for things like this. Get in and out before they start to get behind.)

And now, as I said at the start of this post, I wait. The “official” wait time is noted as up to six months, starting once the biometrics have been registered. But looking on various immigration forums, it seems that a lot of people are getting approvals within 3-4 weeks right now. Unfortunately, the Christmas holidays will likely slow down that quick turnaround. However, I am now hopeful that I might get an approval email early in 2025 instead of May or June as expected.

The next step, other than waiting, will be to attend my citizenship ceremony to make my citizenship official. Once that’s done, I will have my nationalisation certificate which I can use to apply for my first British passport. And then I’ll be done. No more visas or immigration hassles. Unless, of course, I can be enticed to leave Scotland behind for another exciting life opportunity. (Don’t hold your breath; my life isn’t that exciting.)

* I submitted my application a few days after my official eligibility date for two reasons: (1) to ensure there was no question of the date that my ILR became official and (2) to mark what would have been Paul’s birthday.