Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

FORGET TO MENTION I HAD EMAIL RESPONSE AFTER 2 WEEKS IN JULY APPROXIMATLEY 10/12 DAYS AGO. don't know how many more weeks i have to wait.

Malikg123 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 2:14 pm

My application was approved on 24 March 2020 applied in January 2020 due to lockdown nothing was received on 3rd July 2020 received decision letter dated 24 march 2020 before this i received email decision i think it was in June contact to citizenship email address had reply last week. copy and paste reply to everyone still no luck with invitation letter so frustrated check post and email every day i think will go crazy

I refer to your application for British Citizenship and your email enquiry. Upon investigation I can confirm that your citizenship ceremony documents have not yet been printed or dispatched to the local authority. Your citizenship paperwork will be generated in coming weeks when current restrictions due to Coronavirus are eased.

In normal circumstances customers were required to book their citizenship ceremony within three months of being sent an invitation from the Home Office. Due to the current circumstances we have extended this period to six months. We will keep this under constant review. Please be assured that no adverse decisions will be made on your application because of delays caused by Coronavirus (unless there is a material change in your circumstances, for example, you are convicted of a criminal offence).

But I do have my citizenship invitation letter from the HOME OFFICE dated 24 March 2020 council must have my certificate ......

like you said you have invitation letter that means your council have received your certificate i think Croydon council haven't resumes citizenship ceremonies at the moment.
contact them on this link or by email.

register.office@croydon.gov.uk
https://www.croydon.gov.uk/contact-us/message-us

Sohail222 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 2:42 pm

But I do have my citizenship invitation letter from the HOME OFFICE dated 24 March 2020 council must have my certificate ......

Thanks you very much I did contact them they say at the moment they not doing ceremony and advice me to contact home office tell this to them .....

I don’t think so it’s a good idea to contact Home office how you contact croydon council ? if it was over the then better to contact registrar direct by email, fill that form and consult with your solicitor. I won’t advise you to contact home office at this stage.

Sohail222 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:03 pm

Thanks you very much I did contact them they say at the moment they not doing ceremony and advice me to contact home office tell this to them .....

I contact them over the phone

Contact by email to registrar and fill the form as well.
Scan you invitation letter and say to registrar you have dead line of 6 months and letter dated is of 24 March 2020 can you u kindly book my ceremony as I’m close to dead line.
Croydon receptionist are not very helpful better to email and you will have evidence too.

Sohail222 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:45 pm

I contact them over the phone

Had another reply of my email.

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email.
Although certain local authorities have started to commence some private ceremonies, our policy on individual certificates is they will not be printed and sent to local authorities.



Hopefully full citizenship ceremonies will commence shortly.

Thank you very much you are very helpful I will send them email and tell them I’m close to deadline 6 months and attached my letter to the email let’s see what they say hopefully something will update you thanks again you are star

Malikg123 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 4:02 pm

Had another reply of my email.

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email.
Although certain local authorities have started to commence some private ceremonies, our policy on individual certificates is they will not be printed and sent to local authorities.



Hopefully full citizenship ceremonies will commence shortly.

Is that an email from the Home Office? It's strange, because I thought that they started printing and sending new certificates recently.

Yes this email from Home office. You can expect anything dear. Only few people have received their invitation only couple I would say let’s wait and see.

Lopand wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 4:35 pm

Malikg123 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 4:02 pm

Had another reply of my email.

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email.
Although certain local authorities have started to commence some private ceremonies, our policy on individual certificates is they will not be printed and sent to local authorities.



Hopefully full citizenship ceremonies will commence shortly.

Is that an email from the Home Office? It's strange, because I thought that they started printing and sending new certificates recently.

You’re welcome brother I hope you will hear some positive news.

Sohail222 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 4:21 pm

Thank you very much you are very helpful I will send them email and tell them I’m close to deadline 6 months and attached my letter to the email let’s see what they say hopefully something will update you thanks again you are star

Hello Everyone,

This came straight from my Caseworker whom i wrote to last week and it touches the reasons and most important it's not the auto reply we all got from home office.

UK Visas and Immigration

The Capital Building

Liverpool

L3 9PP

                                     

Web       www.gov.uk/uk-visas-immigration

 

Dear Mr xxxxx

Thank you for contacting us regarding your citizenship ceremony.

 

We are currently working hard to issue ceremony invite letters to you and also to dispatch your naturalisation/registration certificate to the local authorities. However, please appreciate that we are still dealing with the significant backlog since lockdown commenced in March.

 

Due to the strict social distancing measures currently in place and to ensure the safety of our staff, regrettably, resources in our Ceremonies and Citizenship Support department are extremely limited, at present.

With regards to individual ceremonies, we are aware that some local authorities have already starting offering this service however it is up to each council as to whether or not they can carry out these with social distancing measures in place. Further to this, unless you have exceptional circumstances, we are unable to accommodate requests to expedite ceremony invites/despatch of certificates at present for the reasons given above.

Our ceremonies and citizenship support team will issue your ceremony invite letter as soon as possible. Upon receipt of the invitation letter, you can make the necessary arrangements with your local authority.

I fully appreciate that you attending your citizenship ceremony is the final part of the process and please be assured that we aim to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.  Regrettably, I am unable to provide a time frame as to when we will be able to despatch the required documentation.

 

Yours sincerely,

X. Xxxx

Its auto reply pretty much. I got this e mail a week and half ago.

BoyTed wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 10:00 pm

Hello Everyone,

This came straight from my Caseworker whom i wrote to last week and it touches the reasons and most important it's not the auto reply we all got from home office.


Dear Mr xxxxx

Thank you for contacting us regarding your citizenship ceremony.

We are currently working hard to issue ceremony invite letters to you and also to dispatch your naturalisation/registration certificate to the local authorities. However, please appreciate that we are still dealing with the significant backlog since lockdown commenced in March.

Due to the strict social distancing measures currently in place and to ensure the safety of our staff, regrettably, resources in our Ceremonies and Citizenship Support department are extremely limited, at present.

With regards to individual ceremonies, we are aware that some local authorities have already starting offering this service however it is up to each council as to whether or not they can carry out these with social distancing measures in place. Further to this, unless you have exceptional circumstances, we are unable to accommodate requests to expedite ceremony invites/despatch of certificates at present for the reasons given above.

Our ceremonies and citizenship support team will issue your ceremony invite letter as soon as possible. Upon receipt of the invitation letter, you can make the necessary arrangements with your local authority.

I fully appreciate that you attending your citizenship ceremony is the final part of the process and please be assured that we aim to resolve this situation as quickly as possible. Regrettably, I am unable to provide a time frame as to when we will be able to despatch the required documentation.

Yours sincerely,
X. Xxxx

I can not really understand how printing certificates is still not an option till the moment.

Shopping centres and food courts are still open in Manchester and full of people despite the local lock down, but it is unsafe to held a private ceremonies or even print a document!

What is the rationale for creating a massive backlog of people waiting to to their ceremonies? My local council has got many slots for private ceremonies for the last 3 weeks, but I am worried now with the ongoing backlog and the unclear time frame of the HO, this will lead to more and more delay.

It is really frustrating to keep waiting for unknown!!!

Totally agreed. I am willing to pay extra for a private ceremony but an unable.
What bothers me is there was an error in processing my application and I was told to re do a step. I pointed out that under regulations this was not needed as it was valid. I then only got approval.
So my approval could have been much earlier as I applied in January.
Approved beginning June. So this has worked out to my detriment as I need to now wait even longer to get my invite to attend my ceremony.
Anyway I'm just hoping I get my invite sooner rather than later.
Chomping at the bit for sure.

Hi everyone,

I applied in April 2020 and got my approval email in July.

I'm aware I would need to wait a bit to get my ceremony invitation letter - however I'm going to move house at some point in September.

I'm still happy to have the ceremony at my current Council, but I was wondering if I should inform the HO of my change of address? If so, what would be the best way to do so?

Alternatively, I also thought I could set up a Royal Mail redirect? Not sure if anyone had any experience with the service before.

Many thanks.

jefoy22123 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:22 am

Hi everyone,

I applied in April 2020 and got my approval email in July.

I'm aware I would need to wait a bit to get my ceremony invitation letter - however I'm going to move house at some point in September.

I'm still happy to have the ceremony at my current Council, but I was wondering if I should inform the HO of my change of address? If so, what would be the best way to do so?

Alternatively, I also thought I could set up a Royal Mail redirect? Not sure if anyone had any experience with the service before.

Many thanks.

Hi
Send an email to HO that you are moving in September. But if they have printed out your letter before September then keep the same address. Best not to change address as it may delay but look for alternative and keep intouch with the people who will be in your place when you leave in September.

jefoy22123 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:22 am

Hi everyone,

I applied in April 2020 and got my approval email in July.

I'm aware I would need to wait a bit to get my ceremony invitation letter - however I'm going to move house at some point in September.

I'm still happy to have the ceremony at my current Council, but I was wondering if I should inform the HO of my change of address? If so, what would be the best way to do so?

Alternatively, I also thought I could set up a Royal Mail redirect? Not sure if anyone had any experience with the service before.

Many thanks.

You need to complete this form
https://visa-address-update.service.gov.uk/

I changed my address before decision on my citizenship application and then I received approval email. The letter attached to the email had my new address. I also got an email notification a couple of days after submitting the form that address has been updated.

You can also use redirect service if you can afford to.

Thanks
Hassan

Can I ask, did anyone have their ceremony completed in Scotland? I live in Aberdeen and council is not holding any ceremonies at the moment. I had my application approved in May but nothing since then. I know we are under a renewed lockdown again in Aberdeen but just wondering if any other Scottish councils started any ceremonies.

Hi members is there anyone who waiting for there citizenship ceremony in Croydon?

Yes, I am. I have contacted Croydon Council but those guys are still working from home (lol) and they have no idea when they will resume the ceremonies. They asked me to email Croydon Register Office to get more info but as far as she new, there are no updates at the moment. I have also no invitation letter from the Home Office. It looks like we are up for a long wait - this covid thing won't go away fast so I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel at the moment. Unless they will start offering private or virtual ones. When I ask that lady from Croydon Council about the private ceremonies or the virtual ones - I almost could feel/see her looking at me as I just arrived from Mars.

Hi, may I ask for your advice guys, please?
Can you provide me an email address that I could use to conatct Home Ofice about my invitation letter, please?
I got few of them from this forum but to be honest I am not sure which one to use:

• nationalityenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk

• FurtherNationalityEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk

• nationalitycaseworkdecisionservice@homeoffice.gov. uk

• citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk

I would really appreciat eyour help, please.
Thank you

But I have my invitation letter received dorota01 you are right Croydon council very slow not very proactive Merton Council has list on there website people certificate I wish I could have my ceremony there

@Sohail222 - how did you receive your Invitation Letter: by email or post? Sorry for asking... and how long were you waiting to get the letter from your approval date?