MarkR Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 I feel raped... To apply to be a British Citizen (I'm from South Africa and have been here 7 years) I have had to jump through more hoops than I care to talk about, filled in countless forms, only to find that they've just changed the form, so I have to fill it all in again (and it's huge). I also have to get all my character witnesses to re-sign and fill in their section again, and if that wasn't enough the fees are £655. All that gets you is citizenship, you still have to apply for the passport, not to mention having to write a test on life in the UK, know all about the House of Lords & Commons etc, government details for Wales Scotland Ireland and England... blah blah blah. My fiance is British and she didn't even get 1 question right in the test exam. Rant done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 What a nightmare Mark, so have you had to pay twice even though the Government changed the form? Regards, Gaz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creative Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 ive been going through the same recently with my passports..... I have dual nationality and its cost a bloody fortune including a trip to london... next is a trip to manchester to say "yes this is me!" a right royal......! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 My best mates bloks is Aussie. She has status over there, he's applied for his British one and OMG it's ridiculous. I looked through the book the exam is based on, I had NO idea on a single question that I read!!!! How is it so hard, yet at the same time clearly not hard enough?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoboblio Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Just buy a day trip to France, when you get there dump all your personal belongining and identification. Run back through the channel tunnel and pretend not to speak English.... job done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 What a nightmare Mark, so have you had to pay twice even though the Government changed the form? Regards, Gaz. Thankfully not, but the £655 still stings.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 Just buy a day trip to France, when you get there dump all your personal belongining and identification. Run back through the channel tunnel and pretend not to speak English.... job done! I like this option, except for the run... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 My best mates bloks is Aussie. She has status over there, he's applied for his British one and OMG it's ridiculous. I looked through the book the exam is based on, I had NO idea on a single question that I read!!!! How is it so hard, yet at the same time clearly not hard enough?? It was pretty hard. They ask you some stupid questions that have no relevance on todays world, like: "When were women first able to vote" No one cares when, so long as they can now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2JG Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 i know how you feel mate. we came over from SA as well. we had been here just short of five years and were enquiring about the forms for citizenship, the guy on the phone said to send them in even though it hadn't been five years yet (a month short) as their were huge back logs at the time and they would process it after the five year date. so we sent them in with our payment (three of us). guess what... three weeks later we get a letter stating that our application was early and we need to fill in another set of forms and send another lot of money a week! i mean honestly! what a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 It's all a money making scheme if you ask me. I added up the amount of money i've spent on Visa's in my SA passport and it came to £2300 and that's before the £655 and then the passport cost!! I could've done some nice mods for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 where do you think rip-off britain came from, but it only applies if you try to do things the right way. if your bent the system will pay it for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 £655, gee, I thought citizenship is free and there is a small charge for the passport. What a scam...my guess is that the hundreds of thousands of fake asylum seekers won't be paying any of these fees. But if you're bona-fide and play it straight you get stung. oops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamer Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 £655, gee, I thought citizenship is free and there is a small charge for the passport. What a scam...my guess is that the hundreds of thousands of fake asylum seekers won't be paying any of these fees. But if you're bona-fide and play it straight you get stung. oops. Asylum seekers do not get citizenship, they get 'leave to remain'. After a set number of years, they can then apply for citizenship and have to pay the same as everyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 Maybe it'd be cheaper to buy a passport on ebay ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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