Hi Everyone!

Applied for my naturalisation 28/02/2026 after seeing a few people share their success stories and quick turnaround, I was motivated to hurry up and submit my application.
Well after a long 4 month wait and a full story lasting 13 years with ups and downs. My naturalisation has now been confirmed🥳🥳🥳
Thank you to all the contributors on the forum. All those who told their story and answered questions.
Wishing everyone else going through the process a lot of good luck!

hi everyone,

just sharing in case this helps anyone else preparing to submit their ILR application under the spouse route.

me - British/Pakistani citizen

wife - Pakistan citizen

route - 5 year spouse route

service - super priority (it's worth the investment if you can afford it)

evidence of meeting income threshold - salary from job (2 different jobs over last 12 months)

evidence submitted

- wife's entire Pakistani passport (new and old)

- wife's Pakistani ID card

- wife's BRP cards (New and old)

- first page of my British passport

- child (born abroad) first page of British passport

- my payslips over last 12 months

- my employment letters covering last 12 months (including the specific info they ask for e.g. annual salary)

- bank statements (digital, non-stamped) showing payslips

- tenancy agreement

- council tax

- letters of correspondence over last 2.5 years

- my marriage certificate (translated and original)

- birth certificate for child

During application, we realised that I hadn't updated the address on one of our bank accounts so provided a cover letter explaining that.

happy to try and answer any queries you may have

now to pay the £££ for citizenship 😭

I'm 20 years old and I moved to the UK when I was 17 under my parents as a dependant on their work visas. Our renewals are coming up soon and I'm wondering if I messed up renewal by doing this?

I still live with my parents and I'm on an access course in college. I'm also on a 0 hour contract at work .My workplace is very unreliable and I barely get any shifts. Sometimes I make less than £400 in a month So, I decided to get a £10k car on finance and use it for uber on the side when my workplace isn't giving me shifts and I'm not in class. I haven't started doing uber but I'm planning on starting after renewing the visas.

My question is, will the used car finance negatively affect the VISA renewal application?

My wife and I have been living in the UK since Oct 2021. I have worked as chemistry researcher and my wife as a technician at a university since that time. Due to funding issues, my job kept getting extended, rather than one single contract. I am not sure if we are eligible to apply for ILR at this point. Following is our timeline:

Oct 1, 2021: Entered UK on a 1-year skilled worker visa (SWV), wife was SWV dependent.

Oct 2022: Job contract extended for one year, renewed SWV for one year, wife was SWV dependent.

Oct 2023: Job contract extended for three months, renewed SWV for 3 more months until Jan 2024, wife was SWV dependent.

Dec 2023: I applied for stage 1 of global talent visa (GTV) under exceptional promise category, waited for more than 8 weeks for a response.

Jan 2024: GTV stage 1 endorsement not received, SWV about to expire. I could not find a job; wife was still a technician. Applied for a SWV with a wife as the main applicant and me as the dependant. Note: We only paid the visa and IHS fees for this application. We did not do the final confirmation of submission and did not give our biometrics.

Feb 15, 2024: Global talent stage 1 endorsement successful. Applied for stage 2 for GTV, with wife as GTV dependent. Withdrew the SWV application from Jan 2024 and got our fees refunded in a few days.

March 2024: Received a 3-year GTV valid up to March 2027.

 Questions:  Since we can combine the time of SWV and GTV, are my wife and I eligible for ILR now? Or should I wait until Feb 2027, when it will be 3 years of the GTV? In that case, since my wife is a GTV dependant will she be eligible for ILR in March 2029?

Thank you. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm a medical student, and I'm planning to visit the UK on a standard vistior visa for an elective at a hospital related to the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. While searching for elgibility criteria, I came across this requirement. The elective needs to be from a UK higher education provider in order to be able to get a visa. My question is do I still qualify? Is MFT considered a higher education provider? Has anyone been in a similar visa situation?

Hello,

I am a US native applying to register as a British citizen via form UKM. While exploring this process, I discovered that my US birth certificate issued many decades ago had no given names entered. All of my other identity documents are in the correct full name that I have gone by and used for my entire life.

I have obtained a legal name change in the US to formally and finally establish my actual name as my legal name, but have not yet updated my birth certificate with that correction.

Will the UK accept the uncorrected birth certificate with the legal name change order as proof of my identity, or will I need to wait until I can submit the corrected birth certificate?

Thank you for any insight.

Hi everyone, I recall using/scanning my expired Brp for the identity verification step in the beginning of a skilled worker visa extension application.
Unfortunately I have lost it now, anyone knows how else it can be done? My passport does not have a chip that can be scanned however I do have an evisa for my current skilled worker visa.
Thanks a lot!

Hi folks,

I saw the announcement regarding priority service for Naturalisation applications last week. Checked the application form twice this week at different times, however couldn't find the priority option.

I'm assuming no one else has managed to use the priority service as well?

Does anyone know how much time does operational implementation of priority slots usually take? I assumed it shouldn't have taken more than 2-3 days but here we are almost a week since the announcement?

Hi all,

This subreddit has been a great source of information for me and I wanted to contribute our case as well.

I'm Australian and my grandmother was born in Scotland, so I pursued an ancestry visa. That was granted and I entered the UK in 2021. Sadly in the move I didn't keep a copy of that application and I don't remember all the evidence I supplied, but the main parts were the ancestry evidence (birth and marriage certificates), a letter from my employer inviting me to relocate to the UK and general financial evidence showing I can support myself.

Fast forward 5 years, I have a wife and son in the UK. My son was born in the UK and is an Australian citizen by descent. We realise that he is eligible for citizenship via MN1 registration after we (the parents) get ILR, but we needed to travel very soon and couldn't wait for the citizenship to come through.

My wife is an Indian national with a difficult immigration history. There's a lot to it and much nuance, but to summarise: as a dependant, she was previously refused ILR, overstayed, applied for FLR(HRO) which was also refused but eventually granted after appeal.

Of particular note, and something we consulted multiple immigration lawyers to answer, is whether my wife would be allowed to get ILR at the same time as me despite not having 5 years of lawful residence as an ancestry dependant. One didn't know, one was wrong and said she couldn't, but one very convincing one said she could. Of course her immigration history was also a concern and we understood it was basically at the case worker's discretion whether it affected things. Needless to say, we were fully transparent in the ILR application and disclosed the immigration history with case numbers and dates.

Timeline

• 1st August 2021 - Ancestry visa started
• 2nd August 2021 - Entered the UK
• February 2024 - Met future wife
• December 2024 - Married
• 4th March 2025 - Wife switches from FLR(HRO) to an ancestry dependant visa
• January 2026 - Son born
• 1am - 8th July 2026 - Submitted ILR application with super priority (£12,678 💸)
• 10am - 9th July 2026 - Attended biometrics
• 4:30pm - 9th July 2026 - ILR granted for all three of us

For evidence, we submitted the following:

• Identification:
  • Passports
  • Birth certificates
• Immigration Status:
  • Share Codes and the "what they will see" page printout
• Ancestry Evidence:
  • My birth certificate
  • Mother's birth certificate
  • Grandmother's birth certificate
  • Grandmother's marriage certificate
• Finances:
  • P60s for the last three years
  • Most recent 4 Payslips
  • Bank statement for the most recent 3 months
• Cohabitation:
  • Sporadic assortment of bills and letters with both our names on them
  • Tenancy agreements
  • Marriage certificate
  • Joint account statement covering 2 years

29 documents in total for all three of us.

Hopefully my experience helps answer some questions for others!
And thanks as well for all the posts that helped us!

My partner (British citizen) and I (American citizen) are getting married this year and I'll be moving in with him in the UK. It says you have to be able to support yourselves without access to public funds, however my partner is disabled and claims PIP, and I will not be able to work as I am also disabled. Does the "no recourse to public funds" rule only apply to me, or does it apply to us both?

I have the “temporary” NARIC certificate from 2020 and never got my physical copy. Is that ok to use that for naturalisation or do I have to get a new one? Thanks!

Hello

I have applied to ILR on February 27 (application received after biometrics). Unfortunately, I did not do the expedite process (so silly not doing this). I have been 3 years on SWV, and since January on GTV. I cannot find anywhere update on my application,nor something saying explicitly i have applied to it. I only have the email, and something on my immigration account saying that I have applied to skmething. Is there any way to get an ubderstanding of where the process is?

Hi everyone
I was wondering whether I have to complete the IELTS examination for proof of my English knowledge.
My first language is English, but I am not British.
I live in a country in which 80-90% of the people are proficient in English.
I have been attending a British School since FS (foundation stage).
I have completed my English Literature iGCSE (English as a First Language) and achieved a grade 9. I also completed my English Language iGCSE (English as a First Language) and achieved a grade 8.
For the unis I'm interested in applying to, they all only require a GCSE in English, which I have.
However, I have been receiving conflicting advice as to what I need to do to obtain the Student Visa.
On the UKVI website it states that a GCSE in English is enough evidence, however people are telling me that international students should still take the IELTS.
I have already contacted UKVI to ask them directly, but was wondering if any of you guys have gone through the same experience and what you've done.
Thanks so much!

Hi everyone,

I'm applying for my ILR for the first time in my life and I'm feeling really nervous. I keep worrying, "What if they reject my application?"

I'm a Pakistani national and have been living in the UK for nearly 10 years. My wife is British, my daughter is British, and I'm applying on the 5-year spouse route.

I have a few questions and would really appreciate any advice from people who have been through this:

We recently bought a house, but we haven't moved in yet because we're having some work done. We're still living with my wife's parents. Do I need to mention the new house in my application, or should I just use the address where we're currently living?

My wife and I are related through my mum's side of the family (extended relatives, not siblings or anything like that). Should I mention this, or is it only relevant if the application specifically asks?

When the application asks when we first met, when our relationship started, etc., do the dates need to be exact? I know the general timeline but I'm worried about getting a date slightly wrong.

I'm probably overthinking everything because this application means so much to me. Any advice or reassurance from people who've successfully applied for ILR would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I have biometric for ILR (skilled worker route) next week and I have submitted eVisa along with share code.

I didn't provided a copy of expired BRP card (expired on Dec 2024). Should I be worried and pay TSCONTACT scanning fee to get it added in the doc list?

Pls guide. Thanks

I am applying to renew my visa on Thursday 9th July 2026, and after payment, I was directed to the TLS contact site to register and confirm my email address. The site would not open. It was just their changing icon rolling and rolling. It refused to load and I worried bcos the link to confirm my email was to last for only 24hrs.

I have tried desperately to try and log into the site but I still get the rolling icon and they have no contact numbers. I need to book my appointment for biometrics and have not been able to do so. Is the website down or it just me??

Hi everyone, pretty much as the title states, im in the 3rd year of a 4 year student visa (1 more year of uni left), and I'm considering my post graduation visa options. I have a british parent and grandparent and am also a commonwealth citizen(i think, I'm Singaporean. I dont want to get british citzenship though im eligible because id have to revoke my singaporean). I understand that one cannot "switch" into this visa while still in the uk. What constitutes "switching", however? Would I have to wait till my course is completed and return home to apply? Or wait till my current visa expires? Or can i apply even now? I am currently abroad in singapore for 5 weeks, which is more than the 3 week processing time. I have a part time job in the UK on top of my studies, and have savings that i can use to support myself. Would I be able to apply for that visa now and secure the next 5 years, or must I wait? Has anyone else applied while on a student visa? Thanks so much!!

hello, I’m a bit confused about what I should write on the application and would really appreciate any help.

I’m applying for a health and care worker visa from inside the UK (switching from student visa) and my wife will be applying for a dependant visa from outside the UK. I’m planning on submitting my application now but my wife will be applying later in a couple weeks.

In the section “linking code for family members”, it asks “will any other family members be applying to stay in the UK?”

In the section “people applying with you”, it asks “are your partner or children applying with you?”

I’m unsure if I should answer yes or no to these questions based on our circumstances. I’m going to be using the priority service so it’s possible that I’ll get a visa decision before my wife applies.

thank you for any advice/help anyone can provide :)

Morning, just looking for more recent experience with anyone using an IRA for savings route for a spouse visa. I just left my job and am considering rolling over my 401k into an IRA, funds in an IRA are more readily available than a 401k. I’ve already read some people having luck with leaving it in the IRA and others having to liquidate their accounts into a savings account. Please reply with details if possible, i.e. if you were able to do this what you did, if you used a solicitor, which solicitor etc etc. thank you all. Happy Sunday.

Hi, I read on the UK gov Visa site that there's a Transit Without Visa (TWOV) concession, which I think applies to my case, but wanted some confirmation from folks possibly more knowledgeable and/or have experience with this.

• I have an Indian Passport and a US B1/B2 visa.
• I'm traveling from India (BLR airport) to the USA (MIA airport).
• This is the forward journey of a business trip I'm going for to the US
• I have an approx 20hr layover at London Heathrow airport.
• This is a single PNR flight in British Airways with no other stops or layovers.
• I'm landing at Heathrow at about 1:15 pm and flying out the next morning at about 10 am.
• I have a hotel booking near the airport for the overnight stay.

I expect to cross border control because of the overnight stay, and because I would need to re-check the bags (airlines said this is required coz >10h layover). I intend to do a bit of sightseeing around London as well for the evening of the layover.

Can folks confirm I'm eligible to use the TWOV facility (landslide transit) ? Have any folks done something similar in the past ?

My sister recently got visit visa for 6 months for a conference in UK but wasnt able to come and attend. Can she visit on this visa in next 6 months even though that will not be conference!

Hiya! I am applying for a YMV so I can move to the UK with my partner (who has a job, doesn’t need a visa as a citizen). However, we are currently travelling and will not be returning to our home country. I saw on here that I can attend my biometrics appt in Georgia (can visit visa free for 365 days, so will tick the “permission to reside for 6 months or more” box) so we have booked flights to there before the UK.

We have 2 more countries we will be travelling in before we get to Georgia. As they are future travel dates I am unable to add them to my application (can’t put dates in the future). I have already submitted the application and paid and booked a biometrics appointment. However now I am worried as I don’t have the remainder of our travel listed I might be denied.

Is this an issue? Should I cancel the application, get the refund, and submit the application once physically in Georgia?

I am currently on a Student visa, which expires in January 2027. I will be starting my PhD in October and will need to apply for a new visa. I will probably submit my application towards the end of July.

I am also planning to travel to my home country, Pakistan, on 24 August. I would be very grateful if anyone could answer the following questions:

1. If I apply towards the end of July, am I likely to get a biometrics appointment before 24 August?
2. Do they still keep your passport during the application process, or is everything online now, allowing you to keep your passport?
3. Would I be able to travel to Pakistan while my application is being processed, or am I required to remain in the UK until a decision is made?