Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long her Department usually takes to obtain good character references for British citizenship applications; what the maximum length of time taken for such a reference to be obtained is; and how many British citizenship applications are currently waiting for good character references to be obtained.

The Home Office does not routinely request character references for British citizenship applications. Where further evidence is required, applicants are normally given 14 calendar days to provide it. The information requested is not centrally held, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.