British Citizenship

Lord Avebury
asked Her Majesty's Government:

Under what circumstances a consular officer at a British post abroad can refuse to accept an application for British nationality.[HL6900]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman)
Consular sections in posts overseas act only as a “forwarding post box” for applications for British nationality that are processed by the Home Office. The application is refused only if the application form has not been completed in full or the correct fee has not been paid.

Lord Avebury
asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why there is no system to track British nationality applications made at British consular posts abroad and forwarded to the Home Office for processing; and whether there is a procedure for British consular posts abroad to make inquiries on the status of an outstanding British nationality application made at that post.[HL6901]

Lord Triesman
There is no obligation for British posts overseas to check the status of nationality applications that are processed by the Home Office. However, if the applicant requests an update, there is a dedicated email address where our consular staff overseas can obtain this information from the Home Office. There is also a dedicated caseworker in the Home Office where members of the nationality section in the Consular Directorate in London can direct inquiries. Applicants themselves are also able to contact the Home Office nationality directorate inquiry line themselves for any updates.