Thanks P Pron & Waheed. I think the best option for me is to get my apssport renewed. Even though I have no travel plans but you never know when an emergency arises.

Also it seems there is a factor of luck involved in the processing time. My application has not even reached the hands of a case worker whereas someoen else also using NCS 2 days later got their approval 10 days back !!

I think it is a fact that the country of origin plays an important role in the speed of applications: EU citizens, who already have the EU-Citizenship and have the right to live in the UK anyway, are more likely to have a speedy decision, a German friend of mine only took 2 weeks. Also I can imagine that US, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, etc, will have a more speedier decision time than south americans for instance.

I am Italian, so I wonder how long will it take for me...haven't applied yet, but passed the test.

Ed

Admin - I was referring to the post "Another Speedy Application" by Troy Judd under General Discussion.

All - Yes it does seem there is a seperate queue for people based on their origin. I am Indian and didnt think it will take more than a month. My Indian passport is useless once I get my British passport so I didnt want to renew it & go for OIC card. But now it seems I will have to spend some time & money to get my Indian passport unless ofcourse I sit tight without a valid passport hoping I dont have to travel outside UK!

Can anyone throw some light on how they find out the country of origin if no case worker is assigned yet?

Also most importantly, does someone know whether the rule of being physically present in the UK is applicable on the day the case worker checks the file or is it the day when the home office sent the ack ?

Might be... but I bet there is a difference depending on your origins...

As the Guide AN(New) is out of date, August 2005, as it is the the Naturalising form. The new rules of the EU Directive have not been updated and I get conflicting and unclear messages messages from different sources withing the Directorate regarding the ILR for EU Citizens.

A new set of regulations came in on the 30th April 2006, where EC nationals having been living and working in the UK continuously for 5 years, do not need to apply for indefinite leave to remain(ILR) in the UK. Up until this date all EC nationals needed to apply for ILR before applying for British citizenship, even though they could live and work freely within the UK. As stated above this has now changed and the rules for applying for British citizenship as an EC national are as follows:

· As a person not married to a British citizen and have been exercising EEA free movement rights in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years will be regarded as settled for nationality purposes. However they will also need to be settled for a full 12 months. This means that you will need to have been living in the UK for 6 years before you can apply for British citizenship

· For a person married to a British citizen they only need to be exercising free movement rights as an EEA national for 5 years

· To support this application you need to send the following documents. Letters from your employers covering the appropriate residency period, or information from your local tax office if you don?t have letters from employers covering the residency period.

 But if you ring them, they tell you even if you have been in he UK since 1998 you have to wait until 30th April 2007 to submit your application.

I agree with your thinking Paul, which is why I posted my comments. According to many, my husband, being Australian and via an AV, should be at the front of the queue affording him  a speedy response. He didn't get priority, therefore it must be random and dependant on how busy a caseworking group or individual is. He fully expects to wait a few more months.

Patience everyone; All good things come to those who wait.

"One thing that doesn't help the process, at a time when IND are saying that the average waiting time is 4.5 months, is pestering them after four weeks. That achieves nothing, except that it delays some other guy's application by the length of time it took to deal with the telephone enquiry..."

Just to clarify on the above point. The people dealing with telephone enquiries would be diferent from those actually handling the case i.e. teh case worker. It doesnot harm in getting an update on the status of your application & it definitely does not slow down anyones process.

Agree with all other points :)

Is that right Waheed ? ...6 weeks for the issue of a new British passport . I know that by using the "check and send " service offered by the post office the processing times are fairly quick . I think for my two children's first passports and certainly from there on in they've never waited more than a fortnight ..infact my son's renewed passport was recently sent back to us within 6 days .

I realise that the circumstances are different but i'm wondering if the check and send service is of much use to first time applicants now . They say that they'll endeavor to have your passport with you within two weeks ...and i was really hoping i could make use of that . 

The website says that for an application by "Check & send" its 2 weeks & otherwise its 3 weeks (or is it 3 & 4 weeks?....). I dont see much point in using the check & send service. Go to the website & fill in the online application form. Shouldnt take more than 5 minutes to answer the questions. The home office will pre-populate your details and send the form to you so that you can sign & paste the photos, etc. No need to fill the form so no errors.

To answer the query of Admin : The 'gatekeeper' did tell me that it could take upto 6 months but most importantly he also told me the status of my application....it was awaiting to be allocated to a case worker.

To Waheed : My Indian passport runs out on 21/11 & I have my ceremony on 22/11. I donot have any immediate plans to travel but the query was more to do with my status i.e. when I am not a British citizen (awaiting ceremony) and my current passport expires (which has the ILR stamp), am I legally staying in the country? I think so, because other than the stamp in the Indian passport, I have the letter from home office granting me ILR. I am ok now anyways as I am having my ceremony the very next day my passport runs out :)