# A couple of questions regarding Form AN



## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

I have a few questions about the filling in of the AN form which I would really like some help with:

I have the form signed by two referees, one of them is a doctor and the other a retired IT engineer. Now, the passport of the retired IT engineer has expired a few weeks ago and he hasn't yet applied for the new one. For the question:

*5.9 Current British citizen passport number (if any)*

he put the number of his expired passport and wrote expired next to it, is this OK? Should he have just left it blank (but then I'd have to ask him to do it again so ideally I'd like to leave it as it is).

Also, for

*7.7 *I declare that, although I do not meet all of the statutory requirements for
naturalisation, I believe that, in view of the following special circumstances, the
Home Secretary should treat me as fulfilling those requirements or waive the need
in my case to fulfil them.
*Delete if not applicable*

I actually do fulfil the requirements so I can't tick this box, nor can I delete it, should I just cross it out or write "not applicable" next to it or do nothing or something else?

The question 

_*1.7 Name at birth if different from above. (If the names you have given are different or spelt
differently from the name shown on your passport, please explain why on page 24)*_

When I got married, I added my husband's surname to my surname, so for example it was Anna Smith and now it's Anna Smith-Johns. Do I need to write Anna Smith for this question or just leave it blank?


The last questions I have are regarding the process. I will be applying through NCS so I can keep my passport as I need to travel for a wedding. As far as I understand, at some point after the original application, I'll be asked to do biometrics, and I am hoping it will be within a month, in which case all is fine. In case that doesn't happen and I receive the letter while I'm abroad, how long do I have to do biometrics after I've receive the letter? 

And also, in case I receive the biometrics letter within a month and do it before my trip, once I get the decision about naturalisation, how long do I have before I have to attend citizenship ceremony, assuming all goes well and I'm granted to right to become the UK citizen? I'm just a bit worried because we may not be at home and no one here will see any letters have arrived. And as far as I am aware, there is no other way to check what stage the application is in. I could set up a mail redirect service (we were planning to ideally stay abroad for 2-3 months, for the wedding and Christmas and New Year) but I don't know if that's a good idea?

Please, please, please, help with whatever you can cause I'm worried about getting everything right, I'd really appreciate any input.


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## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

Also, how does one change/correct the topic/thread name? I've noticed I spelled it wrong, NA instead of AN, but can't find a way to change it?


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## erhnaks (Apr 4, 2013)

I also got stuck at 7.7 I thing we should not ticked but professional advise will be better....


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## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

Yeah, I'm amazed at my inability to make sense or understand basic things when I try to ask questions I personally need an answer to. Normally when I read questions other people ask and I reply, I think I make sense and things are fairly clear and then I read my own questions and think I'm completely useless  I guess I'm rubbish under stress...


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

erhnaks said:


> I also got stuck at 7.7 I thing we should not ticked but professional advise will be better....


Only tick 7.7 if you don't meet the regular requirements for naturalisation and are askig for special consideration in your case.

i.e. if you're married to a UK citizen and have been here for the requisite amount of time, then leave it blank.


In fact, it tells you to "Delete if not applicable," so you could neatly just draw a line through all 4 lines of that statement and leave the check-box empty.


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## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

Thank you guys  After some reading, I think I don't need to put anything in 

*1.7 Name at birth if different from above. *

because I assume it's talking solely about the name, not the surname, and my name is the same. 

which only leaves us with 

*5.9 Current British citizen passport number (if any)*

I hope it can't hurt that my friend wrote down his passport number and expired next to it, so that's what I'll do. If this is not the correct thing to do, some of the mods please correct me


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

ashkevron said:


> Thank you guys  After some reading, I think I don't need to put anything in
> 
> *1.7 Name at birth if different from above. *
> 
> ...


Mods aren't immigration/naturalisation agents or H.O. employees and, as such, can only really suggest a workaround/or make suggestions of _possible_ solutions to problems... that said, my thoughts on that last bit of your post would be that, quite like how potential fiancé(e)/spouse visa applicants need only send the bio page of their sponsor's passport when submitting their applications, having your friend write in his passport number and noting that it's expired would/should be o.k. with the Home Office... they can still do checks with an expired passport - they do ask for _your_ expired non-UK passport number(s) when you apply for an initial entry visa, do they not? If they can do checks on an expired non-UK passport, then surely they can do even more in-depth checks on an expired UK passport and still consider the information to be acceptable.


As stated in section 5.1 of the application form "... The other referee must normally be the holder of a British Citizen passport and either a professional person or over the age of 25..." and at the top of page 21 of the application it states "... Checks will be carried out to ensure that referees meet the requirements below and their signatures are genuine..."

The Home Office doesn't automatically know how your Referees qualify to be your referees and since they're trying to cover all bases, they've made accommodations for all potential situations (you'll notice that at 5.17, the second referee is asked to supply their British passport number, if necessary).

For example, I too am applying for naturalisation next month. My first referee is a UK Civil Servant (one of my husband's many coworkers/pub buddies not employed in the Home Office). They qualify to be my referee as they have a "professional standing" as stipulated at 5.1 and we have known each other for about 3 1/2 years. They'll complete 5.2-5.9 and sign their declaration as requested. It's easy enough for the Home Office to verify that Referee #1 is a Civil Servant, as the people who are processing my application would just have to inquire with the relevant department and ask them to verify that my referee works there.

I would like to have as my second referee, if I can get a hold of him (he lives in London and travels a lot for his work), my friend from Vancouver who came to the UK as British by descent. He doesn't have a qualifying "professional standing" here in the UK (he's a freelance photographer) but would still qualify to be my referee since we've known each other for >40 years (i.e. we're both long since over 25 years of age) and he is the holder of a British passport (our Dads were at university together back in the day and we grew up together, so we go way back). In order for me to prove that he qualifies, he'd have to give his passport number for the Home Office to check that the details given are both correct and acceptable.


Good luck to you!


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## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

I was just hoping for opinions really and as far as immigration/naturalisation agents go, I have a suspicion the mods are better than most official agents in straight forward applications 

Thinking about it now, my doctor friend actually just wrote "doctor" on the form and did not give the address where she works (there's not really space for that and the form doesn't ask for it) so I hope that's fine. The only way they'll be able to check though is by calling her. 

The exact reason my other friend wrote his expired passport number was because he needed to be a British citizen and that's the easiest way to make it obvious. Now, his passport expired I think less than 10 days ago and he will be applying for the new one, hope that won't cause any confusion.


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