I applied for dual citizenship this morning and was able to complete the process in less than 45 mins. However this is due to advise given by several friends who applied before me and found out that the instructions on the form were far from complete (thanks guys!). Of course this is to be expected and is what I ranted about in a previous post about dealing with govt. departments. Make sure you have the following available when you go in to lodge your application. Note that my experience is from lodging the application at the department of immigration in Colombo. Process and requirements at consulates around the world may be different so please feel free to comment on this post if you have any information you can share.
1. The form says you need to submit certified copies or originals of your documents (birth certificate etc). What they really means is that you need to submit the original with a photocopy and they will certify it at that point (the asst. controller does this). If you don't have originals they will make a fuss and you may be turned back. You don't need to provide certified copies of anything. Originals are given back soon after certifying.
2. All photocopies need to be on A4 size paper. Other sizes are not accepted as it doesn't fit in the file! Take photo copies of everything you can think of!
3. Even for the "resumption" category they ask for the Sri Lankan passport (even if it's not valid anymore). You need a copy of the details page along with the passport itself.
4. You need photo copies of all entry visas to Sri Lanka (on your foreign passport).
5. Everyone over 18 years needs a police certificate. When I asked them 3 weeks ago they said I need to get it from UK even though I have been in Sri Lanka for more than a year now. But today they said if the applicant has been in Sri Lanka for more than 6 months then a police report from Sri Lanka will be accepted! There goes (£45 x2) down the drain!
Get there early - we were in by 7.30am and got appointment number 1. Depending on the number you get you may need to spend 1.5-2 hours as it's only one person at the counter for collecting the docs.
The process is supposed to take between 1-3 months (they have not been consistent with this communication). However you get a nice acknowledgement letter with a reference number etc stating that they are "honored" to accept your application. I also overheard one of the officials telling someone on the phone that there will be a periodic citizenship ceremony at BMICH to award citizenship...!
