u/NoahCzark

Applying online from the U.S. for my first British passport. I asked a longtime friend to be my identity confirmer - he's a U.S. citizen and attorney who had also served as a referree for my citizenship application - but when he tried to complete the confirmation online, HMPO rejected him as ineligible, and informed me that I need to select a British passport holder, even though the guidelines on the website clearly state that U.S. passport holders are eligible. Anyone else run into this? Most UK passport holders I know are either family members or not in a profession on the recognised list.

EDIT: thanks all, my American attorney friend is on vacation, so I'd rather not disturb him again with troubleshooting; my British friend who is currently in a non-qualifying profession reminded me that she is retired from a qualifying one, so I'll just have her complete it on that basis. Thanks!

Adding my timeline as an FYI for other applicants:

• 13 Oct 25: Application mailed
• 27 Nov 25: Approval email received from Home Office
• 23 Mar 26: Emailed consulate to follow up (since it was well past the expected 16 weeks)
• 26 Mar 26: Consulate finally emailed confirming receipt of my certificate from the Home Office (they’d been backlogged)
• 20 May 26: Ceremony!

 

Ceremony date was a last-minute serendipity. Someone else had to drop out and reschedule for a later date. As of the week before last, the consulate still anticipated I’d be scheduled for a June ceremony, although they hadn't officially set that date yet.

Good luck to anyone still waiting!

Both parents were born in Montserrat, so I applied and was approved via BOTC. Since my approval and ceremony notifications reference only my UK citizenship ceremony, is there a separate process to obtain the actual territory citizenship certificate?