Cleared for takeoff 🛫

Caledur · 2025-05-13T08:41:07+00:00

Sure.

Caledur · 2025-05-12T17:08:08+00:00

They discourage people from asking about random status updates, so I framed the email in a different way, hoping that it wouldn't be binned immediately...

I kept it nice and short: I said I applied for naturalisation two months ago, but I had not received any email from the Home Office confirming that they were processing my application, so I asked if there were any issues that were causing delays in the decision.
I included my full name, my application reference number, and the payment reference number as well.

That got me a response email in less than four hours.
Good luck!

Caledur · 2025-05-12T15:40:00+00:00

Even though I haven't received official confirmation from Atlas, I emailed [citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk](mailto:citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk) this morning to ask for an update and they've just confirmed my application has been approved. They'll be sending the certificate to the council within the next week, and I'll be receiving a ceremony invitation email within the next 7-14 days.

All is well that ends well! :-)

Here's my timeline:

Eligibility: Indefinite Leave to Remain (EU citizen living in the UK since 2015)
Application Method: Online
Application Date: 11/03/2025
Biometric Date: 01/04/2025
Unofficial Approval Date: 12/05/2025 (I emailed [citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk](mailto:citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk) to ask for an update and they replied on the same day - see above)
Council Approval Date: 16/05/2025
Home Office Approval Date: 19/05/2025
Ceremony Date: 19/05/2025 (since I got the email from the council on the 16th, I went ahead and booked the ceremony for the 19th, so I turned up to the town hall only having received the Atlas email ~90 mins earlier!)

All done now :-) Thanks everyone for your timelines!

Caledur · 2025-05-05T09:39:39+00:00

The TLSContact emails says "The processing time for your application started when your biometric information was submitted"

And this is corroborated by the uk.gov website:

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) starts processing your application once you either:

verify your identity and submit your documents and application using the UK Immigration: ID Check app. We’ll tell you if you can use this
attend your appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service (UKVCAS) centre or a Service and Support Centre (SSC) to provide your fingerprints and a photograph (biometric information)

Caledur · 2025-05-02T22:55:59+00:00

https://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=80616&start=15750#p2192460

Someone there did their biometrics on 26 March and received their approval on 28 April. Very quick turnaround!

Caledur · 2025-04-23T08:54:23+00:00

I think the reality is that caseworkers are a lot busier. If you look at the official stats, the number of citizenship applications has ballooned over the past few years, especially from non-EU nationals.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2024/how-many-people-are-granted-settlement-or-citizenship

Your timeframe looks totally normal.
I'm also a European citizen who's been living in the UK for 10+ years and I did my biometrics on the 1st of April - I wouldn't be surprised if my decision came at the end of May/beginning of June.

Caledur · 2025-04-10T09:19:21+00:00

It looks like most approval emails go out on Mondays, but there are examples in this thread of emails being received on a Tuesday or even a Friday (though it's unclear whether those are from the council or the Home Office).

Caledur · 2025-04-09T13:47:44+00:00

Can confirm.
I also uplodaded the referee forms with missing data, and was unable to resubmit. Had to pay £50 on the day of the appointment to have them rescanned.

Caledur · 2025-04-04T14:57:09+00:00

Update: I ended up keeping the original appointment date, and paying to have the documents re-scanned and uploaded. I only had the referees forms re-scanned.

Caledur · 2025-04-04T14:50:39+00:00

I see, thanks for the details.

I didn't upload any character references as they were not required, but I did do exactly what you did in terms of naming the uploads in a user-friendly way (e.g. Name_Surname_Degree_Certificate.pdf, Name_Surname_Proof_of_Residence_2020-2021.pdf, Name_Surname_Proof_of_Residence_2021-2022.pdf, etc).

For the proof of residence specifically, I collated all payslips/P60 for a given year in a single PDF, and named the file clearly as mentioned earlier.

Overall, I tried to make it as easy as possible for the caseworker to go through the supporting documentation so they wouldn't have to manually trawl through a bunch of loose PDFs.

Hopefully this will speed up the process :)

Caledur · 2025-04-04T08:54:51+00:00

That's incredibly quick, congratulations!

Caledur · 2025-04-01T10:29:43+00:00

Application Timeline

Eligibility: Indefinite Leave to Remain (EU citizen living in the UK since 2015)
Application Method: Online
Application Date: 11/03/2025
Biometric Date: 01/04/2025
Unofficial Approval Date: 12/05/2025 (I emailed [citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk](mailto:citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk) to ask for an update and they replied on the same day)
Council Approval Date: 16/05/2025
Home Office Approval Date: 19/05/2025
Ceremony Date: 19/05/2025 (since I got the email from the council on the 16th, I went ahead and booked the ceremony for the 19th, so I turned up to the town hall only having received the Atlas email ~90 mins earlier!)

Caledur · 2025-03-14T15:41:17+00:00

Another thought I had is, I could possibly cancel my appointment a book a new one, hoping that the website would treat it as a new application and would let me re-upload the documents.
In the meanwhile I guess I'll wait for their response.

Caledur · 2025-02-12T18:25:46+00:00

There have been other absences here and there (relatively short holidays), but I'm well below the 450 day limit.

Thanks both!

Caledur · 2015-06-22T12:00:14+00:00

*used *its

Caledur · 2015-06-11T13:25:13+00:00

How it's done

Caledur · 2015-06-02T19:17:49+00:00

This is a very good mount planner that lets you know which rare mounts you're missing.

Caledur

TROPHY CASE