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Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

A section for posts relating to applications for Naturalisation or Registration as a British Citizen. Naturalisation

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newlondon
Newly Registered
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2020 11:27 am

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by newlondon » Mon Aug 09, 2021 12:32 pm

brexitmeansbrexit wrote:
Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:27 am
newlondon wrote:
Wed Aug 04, 2021 4:34 pm
brexitmeansbrexit wrote:
Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:50 pm
newlondon wrote:
Tue Aug 03, 2021 1:27 pm
brexitmeansbrexit wrote:
Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:00 am
newlondon wrote:
Sun Jul 25, 2021 4:19 pm
Hi Guys,

Anyone still waiting from mid May approvals or earlier please post your experience as I am still waiting and it is nearly approaching three months to receive the ceremony invitation.

No response to any of the emails sent to different email address so I am unsure what to do next?

@brexitmeansbrexit did you manage to receive the invitation?

Thanks
Hi @newlondon

I have not received my invitation to a ceremony letter yet. I have sent a letter to UKVI to ask for it. I have also sent emails but I am getting no replies back. When I called HO last week, they just confirmed that the ceremony backlog has been apparently cleared so they do not provide those 'batch last sent' updates anymore.

I have contacted my local MP for help. I have not heard back from them. I also raised a SAR request a month ago, which just came back confirming that they have not sent any ceremony letter and there is no update on my case since its approval in late May.

It seems that many applicants now receive a combined approval letter with the ceremony invitation. Our cases seem to have followed the traditional route of sending it separately.

You can try lodging a SAR request about your case (it takes 5weeks approx) and sending a physical letter to UKVI/HO requesting an update.
Hi,

Any new updates from your MP or home office?

I have sent several emails and none of them have been responded. I will compose an email to my MP if I do not hear back from them this week.

Let’s see if you have any updates.

Thanks
Hi

I have received an update from my MP. She kindly called HO and they only confirmed that I sent them an email in mid July, then it was allocated to a caseworker 5 days later. They could not confirm to her when they will provide me/her with an update. So far they have just acknowledged my email. It is still within the 20-working days windows so I will wait.

In the meantime, I have not received any updates from any of the email addresses even after a chase (furthernationalityenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk, NationalitySupportTeamFMT@homeoffice.gov.uk, NationalityFrontEndTechnicalSpecialists@homeoffice.gov.uk, Citizenship.Support@homeoffice.gov.uk, nationalityenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk)

I also sent a physical letter which was received by Nationality team last week. No reply yet.

I am also chasing the Subject Access Requests (SAR) team to provide me with any trace of the letter but it has not been disclosed yet.

Is anyone else still waiting for their ceremony invitation letters with May approval dates?

Hi thanks for the update.

I will contact my MP if I do not hear anything by the end of this week.

In terms of other people waiting their is 1-2 people still waiting in a different forum and they were approved in May too. I think our cases got forwarded to the same case worker who forgot to sent the certificates for printing which has probably caused this issue as now a days people are getting the ceremony and invite at the same time or some people are getting ceremony invite within 2-5 days after approval.
Hi,

I just received my invitation letter over the weekend via post and I was able to book my ceremony for this week. I am not sure if it was just the random waiting or my chase via local MP and sending the physical letter to HO helped to chase that. Hope you will receive your invitation letter soon!

Congratulations.

This brings some good news so hopefully my one should arrive soon.

Can you please share what address did you send the physical letter to?

Also did you received a combined invitation and a approval or just ceremony invitation I know u have had the approval letter in May however as they have changed the procedure I am curious what old applicants are receiving.

Thanks

brexitmeansbrexit
Newly Registered
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:54 pm

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by brexitmeansbrexit » Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:47 pm

newlondon wrote:
Mon Aug 09, 2021 12:32 pm
brexitmeansbrexit wrote:
Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:27 am
newlondon wrote:
Wed Aug 04, 2021 4:34 pm
brexitmeansbrexit wrote:
Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:50 pm
newlondon wrote:
Tue Aug 03, 2021 1:27 pm
brexitmeansbrexit wrote:
Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:00 am


Hi @newlondon

I have not received my invitation to a ceremony letter yet. I have sent a letter to UKVI to ask for it. I have also sent emails but I am getting no replies back. When I called HO last week, they just confirmed that the ceremony backlog has been apparently cleared so they do not provide those 'batch last sent' updates anymore.

I have contacted my local MP for help. I have not heard back from them. I also raised a SAR request a month ago, which just came back confirming that they have not sent any ceremony letter and there is no update on my case since its approval in late May.

It seems that many applicants now receive a combined approval letter with the ceremony invitation. Our cases seem to have followed the traditional route of sending it separately.

You can try lodging a SAR request about your case (it takes 5weeks approx) and sending a physical letter to UKVI/HO requesting an update.
Hi,

Any new updates from your MP or home office?

I have sent several emails and none of them have been responded. I will compose an email to my MP if I do not hear back from them this week.

Let’s see if you have any updates.

Thanks
Hi

I have received an update from my MP. She kindly called HO and they only confirmed that I sent them an email in mid July, then it was allocated to a caseworker 5 days later. They could not confirm to her when they will provide me/her with an update. So far they have just acknowledged my email. It is still within the 20-working days windows so I will wait.

In the meantime, I have not received any updates from any of the email addresses even after a chase (furthernationalityenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk, NationalitySupportTeamFMT@homeoffice.gov.uk, NationalityFrontEndTechnicalSpecialists@homeoffice.gov.uk, Citizenship.Support@homeoffice.gov.uk, nationalityenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk)

I also sent a physical letter which was received by Nationality team last week. No reply yet.

I am also chasing the Subject Access Requests (SAR) team to provide me with any trace of the letter but it has not been disclosed yet.

Is anyone else still waiting for their ceremony invitation letters with May approval dates?

Hi thanks for the update.

I will contact my MP if I do not hear anything by the end of this week.

In terms of other people waiting their is 1-2 people still waiting in a different forum and they were approved in May too. I think our cases got forwarded to the same case worker who forgot to sent the certificates for printing which has probably caused this issue as now a days people are getting the ceremony and invite at the same time or some people are getting ceremony invite within 2-5 days after approval.
Hi,

I just received my invitation letter over the weekend via post and I was able to book my ceremony for this week. I am not sure if it was just the random waiting or my chase via local MP and sending the physical letter to HO helped to chase that. Hope you will receive your invitation letter soon!

Congratulations.

This brings some good news so hopefully my one should arrive soon.

Can you please share what address did you send the physical letter to?

Also did you received a combined invitation and a approval or just ceremony invitation I know u have had the approval letter in May however as they have changed the procedure I am curious what old applicants are receiving.

Thanks
Hey,

Thanks.

I addressed the letter to:

UKVI - Nationality CTx/ Citizenship Ceremony Teams
The Capital Building
Liverpool
L3 9PP

(Instead of CTx put your actual team code there if known from your approval letter).

Be as specific in the letter as you can be. I also attached a copy of my passport and the decision letter.

The wording of the letter says “Citizenship Invitation” but they also confirmed in the first sentence that my application has been approved. It must be a newer version of the letter as they mention that one has 60 days to contact their council from the date stated.

Good luck! I am sure it won’t be too long by now.

maliksahel123
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:53 am
Pakistan

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by maliksahel123 » Tue Aug 10, 2021 11:16 am

Experts

Can I please get HO number to contact on for extending my Ceremony date due to stuck outside the country? I tried all emails regarding Nationality support but got no reply. Please help me as soon as possible

Thanks all.

perfettoleo1
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:25 pm
India

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by perfettoleo1 » Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:31 pm

Hi There,
My invitation letter is expiring on 20th November but the earliest appointment available is 6th December and I have been advised to ask Home Office for extension. I had emailed to them at the email provided but there’s no response. Called home office and they said there’s no alternative contact to help me but I just got to wait. I’m getting worried now that it will be expired and how will I get an extension thereafter.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thank you

JT67ILRqns
Newly Registered
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:51 am

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by JT67ILRqns » Tue Dec 07, 2021 3:47 pm

I wonder if you could help, please ?

I was approved for British Citizenship on 28 November 2021.

I was then given three different deadlines by which to attend a ceremony 15 Feb (according to the council) ; 28 Feb (3 months after the email) or 6 months as specified on the government website as of 28 November (https://www.gov.uk/citizenship-ceremonies) which states that “Usually you must attend a citizenship ceremony within 3 months of receiving your invitation from the Home Office. Because of coronavirus, this has been extended to 6 months. Do not book a ceremony until you’ve received your invitation letter. Because of coronavirus, it can take up to 3 months from being told your application was successful to get your letter.”.

I have not received the letter in the post.

Unless I return to the UK early from a pre-booked holiday, I will not be able to meet the two deadlines in February. The council are telling me that if the 6 month policy changes between now and 15 February (the deadline that they have been given) that they would not be able to conduct the ceremony. From my point of view, surely the policy that is in place on the day I was approved ("within 6 months"), is the policy that governs my application, even if this subsequently changes ?

I have tried calling UKVI and have written to a couple of generic home office email accounts but have not received any replies.

From your experience, can you confirm which deadline applies ? And do you have a home office email address relating to citizenship ceremonies that will reply in writing, regarding my case ?

Thank you for any insight you can offer.

dexmo
Junior Member
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:37 pm

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by dexmo » Tue Dec 07, 2021 4:46 pm

JT67ILRqns wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 3:47 pm
I wonder if you could help, please ?

I was approved for British Citizenship on 28 November 2021.

I was then given three different deadlines by which to attend a ceremony 15 Feb (according to the council) ; 28 Feb (3 months after the email) or 6 months as specified on the government website as of 28 November (https://www.gov.uk/citizenship-ceremonies) which states that “Usually you must attend a citizenship ceremony within 3 months of receiving your invitation from the Home Office. Because of coronavirus, this has been extended to 6 months. Do not book a ceremony until you’ve received your invitation letter. Because of coronavirus, it can take up to 3 months from being told your application was successful to get your letter.”.

I have not received the letter in the post.

Unless I return to the UK early from a pre-booked holiday, I will not be able to meet the two deadlines in February. The council are telling me that if the 6 month policy changes between now and 15 February (the deadline that they have been given) that they would not be able to conduct the ceremony. From my point of view, surely the policy that is in place on the day I was approved ("within 6 months"), is the policy that governs my application, even if this subsequently changes ?

I have tried calling UKVI and have written to a couple of generic home office email accounts but have not received any replies.

From your experience, can you confirm which deadline applies ? And do you have a home office email address relating to citizenship ceremonies that will reply in writing, regarding my case ?

Thank you for any insight you can offer.
I would go by what the council is saying / what your approval email says (was it an email? in which case it'll be your ceremony invitation as well), I think UKVI website may not have been updated to reflect going back to the normal 3 months period from receiving approval. It is in the council's hands though now and, if they're saying they won't do your ceremony after Feb then they won't do it and your certificate will be sent back to HO.

Getting any sort of specific email response from UKVI these days apart from approval and generic emails is near on impossible, so the best thing you can do is change your plans and attend your ceremony before the deadline.

JT67ILRqns
Newly Registered
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:51 am

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by JT67ILRqns » Fri Dec 10, 2021 4:51 pm

@Cullinan or @CR001 - are either of you able to shed any light on this, please ?

I wonder if you could help, please ?

I was approved for British Citizenship on 28 November 2021.

I was then given three different deadlines by which to attend a ceremony 15 Feb (according to the council) ; 28 Feb (3 months after the email) or 6 months as specified on the government website as of 28 November (https://www.gov.uk/citizenship-ceremonies) which states that “Usually you must attend a citizenship ceremony within 3 months of receiving your invitation from the Home Office. Because of coronavirus, this has been extended to 6 months. Do not book a ceremony until you’ve received your invitation letter. Because of coronavirus, it can take up to 3 months from being told your application was successful to get your letter.”.

I have not received the letter in the post.

Unless I return to the UK early from a pre-booked holiday, I will not be able to meet the two deadlines in February. The council are telling me that if the 6 month policy changes between now and 15 February (the deadline that they have been given) that they would not be able to conduct the ceremony. From my point of view, surely the policy that is in place on the day I was approved ("within 6 months"), is the policy that governs my application, even if this subsequently changes ?

I have tried calling UKVI and have written to a couple of generic home office email accounts but have not received any replies.

From your experience, can you confirm which deadline applies ? And do you have a home office email address relating to citizenship ceremonies that will reply in writing, regarding my case ?

Thank you for any insight you can offer.

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