Hi

there are two solutions:

1. use NCS, they will photocopy your passport and return it to you immidiately:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/nationality/ncs

2. from this page:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/nationality/

"If you wish to apply for British citizenship and you plan to travel abroad within 12 weeks of making an application, you should not send in original passports or travel documents with your application. You may send in copies of documents certified by a solicitor. Each page of a passport must be copied."

BEAR IN MIND THAT YOU MUST BE PRESENT IN THE UK ON THE DAY OF APPLICATION.

hope it helps

p

hi there, thank you so much for replying back.

That is so cool to know that I can get my passport back immediately.

But I need help, do I like send them an attached letter saying I would like to request my passport back please as I will be going on holiday?

can you please tell me what I should say.

thanks

there is no gaurantee that they send your passport back in the time you require it. your document goes to a queue until it gets caseworked. before caseworking, it is not possible to request it back. I don't know whether after submission, they will priorotise your application or not. I personally advise that don't buy stress for yourself.

if you use the NCS, you should find the nearest centre to you, hand in your documents. they will check your documents, photocopy the important ones (like your passport) and will return the passport. For this service, they will charge you, dependent to the centre you use (e.g. in the order of £50-£100 for a family).

the second case takes longer but usually cheaper, you should see a solicitor in you nearby and ask him/her to photocopy your passports and certify them. they will usually stamp all the photocopies and sign all the pages and will charge you something around £5-£10 per passport. then you will send the photocopies of the passports alongside the other documents.

HI there thank you for replying.

I think I will head of to the solictors as its only my passport that it will be checked and may be my little brothers.

If their charging the £5 to £10 Fee then I dont mind.

I am hoping to apply soon and will go to the solicitors soon also

thank you

I am not so sure if the solicitor will only charge you 5-10 but make sur eyou check with them before asking them to do.

I went to Law Centre and they charged me nothing to attest teh copies that I made of my passport. Check Law Centre  near you or Citizen Advisory Beureau. I was in Bradford and went to Bradford LAw Centre.  They did not ask me anything and just attested the copies for no charge.

Oh I am in bradford myself.

So what does attesting the papers mean?

will they send the forms of for me?

No, they won't send the form for you.  But Bradford Council does this and charge 35 for doing NCS services.  I think you can find that information too fom Home offic ewebsite under NCS. 

Bradford Law centre attested all my copies for no charge and you can call and ask them about it.  I made the copies and took it to them and they attested it on the spot.  Make sure you call them first and find out all about what they can do.

However, if you want to go through NCS then dont bother with them.  Go to the council and they will do all the work including making copies. They will return your original documents to you at the same time.

BRADFORD. LAW CENTRE. 31 MANOR ROW. BRADFORD. BD1 4PS. TEL: 01274 306617.

oh right thats some useful information. thank you

I want everything to go as smoothly as possible you see.

waheed can you help me in my other topic about the ESOL CERTIFICATE in this forum

please check it and help me cheers

I looked at the certificate but not sure if it will be acceptable.  you need to call Laisterdyke Institute or the home office.  Also keep in mind that if your parents are over 65, they might not have to take it and are exepted. You also need Level 3 and it wasn't mentioned on the certificate.

Sorry, I am not sure, thats why I did not reply on the certificate before.

well my mums teacher said she will make a letter for her stating what level she is on now.

My mum is below the age of 50 i assure you lolz!

but if this is the case she will be gutted to know she has to take it.

the thing is she will be late in revision and as rules are changing in april she will have to revise something new now isnt it?

Please read carefully the relevant paragraph in guidance notes on page 8.

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/11406/49552/141287_AN_Guide.pdf

there are several conditions to be met:

1. it should be from an approved college

2. it must only show the progress from one level to another (doesn't explicitly need entry level 3)

3. you should provide the certificate from the awarding body, not the college. An example is Unviersity of Cambridge.

4. you should also provide a letter from the college certifiying the course contains citizenship material.

I personally have attended an advanced level ESOL course, and I have a certificate from Cambridge university, but I did not provide it to HO, as it didn't contain the citizenship material, so I sat for the test. Your mum's case shows that the course contains the citizenship material, but you must make sure all 4 above is met.

hi there thank you so much for replying.

If this is the case then I will have to go into her college myself and have a talk with her tutor.

I think I am going to email HO with the ceritifcate asking if this is acceptable?

hi there guys I passed my test in early Feb however recently I have found out me and my family are going to Pakistan for a holiday, however so I am not going to apply for my nationality yet as I have to send my passport over and I am afraid I might not get my passport back by then.

I just wanted to know if this is allowed? you know to apply late even though you have passed it?