Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Sous49 · Post by **Sous49** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 3:24 pm

BoyTed wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 1:57 pm

Sous49 wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 9:10 am
HI all

Finally got that phone call from the Council that my certificate is received. I know on May 2020 that I have been approved when i asked about an update.never received a decision nor an invitation letter yet . But i have done it and had my ceremony just now
Hello Sous49,
Congrats bro so happy for you.
The stress of this journey is over for you.

Thank you so much Boyted ..all the best to you too my friend.it was a hell of a wait..

Duded2002 · Post by **Duded2002** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 3:59 pm

dxbdxb wrote: ↑
Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:14 pm

Duded2002 wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:52 pm
Hi, I had my e-ceremony yesterday and got the certificate today. My 6 month would have been up on 6th August.
congratulations, my six months is completing on 24 of Aug, what shall i do i ask my council (cheshire west and chester)they said you have to wait we don't have any updates, how you had your e-ceremony? could you please explain a bit more. Thanks

Hi , sorry didn't see earlier, did you have your ceremony? As far as i know there is extension of all ceremony till 24/09

Duded2002 · Post by **Duded2002** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 4:00 pm

dxbdxb wrote: ↑
Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:14 pm

Duded2002 wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:52 pm
Hi, I had my e-ceremony yesterday and got the certificate today. My 6 month would have been up on 6th August.
congratulations, my six months is completing on 24 of Aug, what shall i do i ask my council (cheshire west and chester)they said you have to wait we don't have any updates, how you had your e-ceremony? could you please explain a bit more. Thanks

Hi , sorry didn't see earlier, did you have your ceremony? As far as i know there is extension of all ceremony till 24/09

SidiBou · Post by **SidiBou** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 6:24 pm

My wife just received her invitation letter after a long wait. Even though she never received an approval letter. Anyways, she plans to have a private ceremony tomorrow. Best of Luck to all.

Wahidwadid · Post by **Wahidwadid** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:14 pm

SidiBou wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 6:24 pm
My wife just received her invitation letter after a long wait. Even though she never received an approval letter. Anyways, she plans to have a private ceremony tomorrow. Best of Luck to all.

Hi sidibou,Can you share your time line ,If you don't mind. Everyone plz share your time line when u receive an invitation letter, Coz some ppl get confused when they see someone got invitation letter but they got approved after them,Congratulations to everyone who got invitation.

CR001 · Post by **CR001** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:16 pm

Wahidwadid wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:14 pm

SidiBou wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 6:24 pm
My wife just received her invitation letter after a long wait. Even though she never received an approval letter. Anyways, she plans to have a private ceremony tomorrow. Best of Luck to all.
Hi sidibou,Can you share your time line ,If you don't mind. Everyone plz share your time line when u receive an invitation letter, Coz some ppl get confused when they see someone got invitation letter but they got approved after them,Congratulations to everyone who got invitation.

Please do not ask members to post timelines here. Why cant you simply search their posts and find the timeline post made today!!!

https://www.immigrationboards.com/briti ... l#p1931353

Wahidwadid · Post by **Wahidwadid** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:40 pm

CR001 wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:16 pm

Wahidwadid wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:14 pm

SidiBou wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 6:24 pm
My wife just received her invitation letter after a long wait. Even though she never received an approval letter. Anyways, she plans to have a private ceremony tomorrow. Best of Luck to all.
Hi sidibou,Can you share your time line ,If you don't mind. Everyone plz share your time line when u receive an invitation letter, Coz some ppl get confused when they see someone got invitation letter but they got approved after them,Congratulations to everyone who got invitation.
Please do not ask members to post timelines here. Why cant you simply search their posts and find the timeline post made today!!!

https://www.immigrationboards.com/briti ... l#p1931353

Tnx croo1.

Tirinti · Post by **Tirinti** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:09 pm

CR001 wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:16 pm

Wahidwadid wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:14 pm

SidiBou wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 6:24 pm
My wife just received her invitation letter after a long wait. Even though she never received an approval letter. Anyways, she plans to have a private ceremony tomorrow. Best of Luck to all.
Hi sidibou,Can you share your time line ,If you don't mind. Everyone plz share your time line when u receive an invitation letter, Coz some ppl get confused when they see someone got invitation letter but they got approved after them,Congratulations to everyone who got invitation.
Please do not ask members to post timelines here. Why cant you simply search their posts and find the timeline post made today!!!

https://www.immigrationboards.com/briti ... l#p1931353

I think the timeline thread doesn't have one critical information for people waiting for the ceremony. The council. Some councils almost cleared their backlog and people approved in July are having their ceremonies, while other councils haven't even restarted ceremonies and people approved in March are still waiting. It would be nice to see the state of the backlog in each council.

Tirinti · Post by **Tirinti** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:22 pm

beaujam90 wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 1:18 pm

bppartnerclub wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:25 am

Mohahij wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:08 am
Hello everyone

Just before 5 minutes I got my ceremony letter by post
My approval letter was dated 29 July
Ceremony letter dated 17 of August

Good luck everyone it is starting to rain ceremonies.
'' Wooow, so people approved a month ago are getting their invitations but people approved 3 months ago are still waiting.. '' The HO is notorious for being inefficient.
Actually HO is efficient in this case as well as the Redbridge council. Do you think it would be better HO hasn't sent any certificates to Redbridge, because Croydon hasn't restarted ceremonies and have people waiting since March?

beaujam90 · Post by **beaujam90** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:41 pm

Tirinti wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:22 pm

beaujam90 wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 1:18 pm

bppartnerclub wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:25 am

Mohahij wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:08 am
Hello everyone

Just before 5 minutes I got my ceremony letter by post
My approval letter was dated 29 July
Ceremony letter dated 17 of August

Good luck everyone it is starting to rain ceremonies.
'' Wooow, so people approved a month ago are getting their invitations but people approved 3 months ago are still waiting.. '' The HO is notorious for being inefficient.
Actually HO is efficient in this case as well as the Redbridge council. Do you think it would be better HO hasn't sent any certificates to Redbridge, because Croydon hasn't restarted ceremonies and have people waiting since March?
Ok Sir ! HO is so efficient that it makes all of us very happy. So glad you're happy.

Lami01 · Post by **Lami01** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 6:10 am

Hello everyone
Is there any one on here from Salford Council. I received an email 26th of May that my application for british citizenship has been successful but until now i have not received my invitation letter.

I have called my council and they said they will call me back. No response from them over a week now.

mpapa · Post by **mpapa** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 9:12 am

Hello Lami01,

I am not from the Salford Council but I also received by e-mail on May 22nd from the HO that my British citizenship application has been successful. I still have not received any invitation regarding my ceremony. I have also called my council (Brighton and Hove) and they confirmed that they have not received my certificate. They informed me that the HO sends the certificates in budges (16 certificates per week). They do only private ceremonies twice a month. The delay on the ceremonies depends on the Council: 1.How fast they are with the backlog; 2. How often do they resume ceremonies (Once a week vs. Twice a month)? and 3. What type of ceremony do they organise? Some councils have the facilities to host small group ceremonies (up to 10 people) with social distancing or virtual ceremonies. These councils tend to complete the backlog quicklier compared to other councils where they only host private ceremonies. This is the reason why the HO in some councils has send invitations/certificates for people whose application was approved in July and in other councils, the backlog is huge so councils host ceremonies for people whose application was approved in March. From what I have seen in this forum, there are several people from different councils whose application was approved last May and they still have not received their invitation.

The only thing to say is "Patience is a Virtue" and hopefully more councils will start organising virtual ceremonies soon as a second national lockdown is expected. I hope everyone is well and keeping safe and healthy.

naturaliser123 · Post by **naturaliser123** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:31 am

Hi all - in case it helps anyone, I had my ceremony 10 days ago without my invitation letter (council was particularly kind) and the invitation finally arrived today, even though the letter was dated July.

It seems like there is a 2 week lag between when the council receives your certificate and when the invite comes through.

I know how stressful the wait for these letters is, fingers crossed you all have your ceremonies and move on with your lives soon!

Luna149 · Post by **Luna149** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 11:52 am

]Hi All please can you help me.when I apply for BC I mention on the application I need to do my ceremony at Liverpool city council , I live in different city But I prefer in Liverpool that is why I wrote it in the application.
Now I confused if they will send my certificate to Liverpool Or to my City ?? Can you advise please

Lopand · Post by **Lopand** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 12:10 pm

Luna149 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 11:52 am
]Hi All please can you help me.when I apply for BC I mention on the application I need to do my ceremony at Liverpool city council , I live in different city But I prefer in Liverpool that is why I wrote it in the application.
Now I confused if they will send my certificate to Liverpool Or to my City ?? Can you advise please

They will probably send it to the council that you registered you want your ceremony to take place at.

Luna149 · Post by **Luna149** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:16 pm

Lopand wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 12:10 pm

Luna149 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 11:52 am
]Hi All please can you help me.when I apply for BC I mention on the application I need to do my ceremony at Liverpool city council , I live in different city But I prefer in Liverpool that is why I wrote it in the application.
Now I confused if they will send my certificate to Liverpool Or to my City ?? Can you advise please
They will probably send it to the council that you registered you want your ceremony to take place at.

Thank you very much for your help

nnn15 · Post by **nnn15** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:32 pm

naturaliser123 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:31 am
Hi all - in case it helps anyone, I had my ceremony 10 days ago without my invitation letter (council was particularly kind) and the invitation finally arrived today, even though the letter was dated July.

It seems like there is a 2 week lag between when the council receives your certificate and when the invite comes through.

I know how stressful the wait for these letters is, fingers crossed you all have your ceremonies and move on with your lives soon!

You are in Westminster council, right? Would you mind telling when your application got approved?
I followed your recommendation and tried to fill in the ceremony booking form, but in my case it doesn't go through, apparently the council doesn't have my certificate yet. I was approved in April and am hoping the certificate can be printed and sent soon.

Rusland · Post by **Rusland** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 2:14 pm

Mohahij wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 12:05 pm

luckylucky7 wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 12:03 pm

Mohahij wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 03, 2020 12:00 pm
Ok as an update

Got a phone call from my council and got booked on the 9th of September for a group ceremony of 10 people.

This is a happy day
Congratulations! May I ask which council this is?
Redbridge council

Thanks for the update! Can you please remind us when did you get your approval letter?

Maria2020 · Post by **Maria2020** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 2:33 pm

Has anyone received an invitation letter for Hammersmith and Fulham Council?

I have received an email that my citizenship application has been approved early July 2020, but I haven't heard or received anything else since then, just doing my best to be patient...

uuee6543 · Post by **uuee6543** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:13 pm

I continued to call Camden Council and the citizenship helpline (0300 123 2253).

One council registration officer has told me they have been receiving certificates regularly but couldn’t confirm how frequently. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a sense of the volume of certificates they receive. Nobody on immigration boards has so far posted about ceremonies in Camden so it’s hard to say why my certificate/invitation is delayed.

Many people here have been receiving certificates before me despite having applied later and getting approved (sometimes much) later than me. Not really sure if this has anything to do with when my council resumed ceremonies (in early August) or anything else (like the fact that my council overwhelmingly votes labour, or the fact that I sent many emails to the Home Office so maybe that put me at the back of the queue? No idea).

A new piece of information I got today from the citizenship helpline (0300 123 2253), albeit not very positive: the person I spoke to said that if I decide to complain to my MP they will ‘no longer be able to assist me, even if my certificate doesn’t arrive by 30 October’. Not sure how true this is because these people themselves don’t work for the Home Office, but it’s something to be aware of.

nnn15 · Post by **nnn15** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:26 pm

uuee6543 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:13 pm
A new piece of information I got today from the citizenship helpline (0300 123 2253), albeit not very positive: the person I spoke to said that if I decide to complain to my MP they will ‘no longer be able to assist me, even if my certificate doesn’t arrive by 30 October’. Not sure how true this is because these people themselves don’t work for the Home Office, but it’s something to be aware of.

Are they able to assist if you don't involve your MP? The only recommendation they gave me was to email citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk, I emailed twice and haven't got any response at all.

Small · Post by **Small** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:59 pm

I rang again at 0300 number and HO replied due to Covid we have limited numbers of employees. I told him that you were repeating same reply again and again every time I rang you. I asked how long I am to wait? How many invitations you sent in a week? Which order? Canot you make applications traceable online etc? He said “ don’t talk to mike that”. Things got bit hyper and I said I will complain about you. At last he said he could not go forward with this conversation and stucked with Covid the reason and disconnected.

Tbh HO have no idea how they will be able to do this!

ariskar · Post by **ariskar** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 4:27 pm

Maria2020 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 2:33 pm
Has anyone received an invitation letter for Hammersmith and Fulham Council?

I have received an email that my citizenship application has been approved early July 2020, but I haven't heard or received anything else since then, just doing my best to be patient...

Dear Maria2020. We are also waiting for my spouse the citizenship ceremony letter for Hammersmith and Fulham Council. We called several times the council. The most meaningful answer we got late August was that for applications approved after the Covid 19 freeze, they only received 40 naturalisation certificates (this is definitely too low given the foreign nationals living in the council) to that date. Frustrating to say the least, as Hammersmith and Fulham Council started ceremonies since mid-July.

My spouse approval letter arrived by both post and email dated 2 June 2020, if that bares any relevance.

If I were you I would call them to arrange ceremony and see if they have the certificate in hand...

citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk, and other nationality assistance mailboxes stopped answering our emails after the first week of August... As a citizen myself can say this is a disgrace of a public service performance.

uuee6543 · Post by **uuee6543** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 4:41 pm

nnn15 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:26 pm
Are they able to assist if you don't involve your MP? The only recommendation they gave me was to email citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk, I emailed twice and haven't got any response at all.

So far they haven’t been able to assist me except:

Originally giving me wrong information stating that I should expect my invitation letter within 8-12 weeks from my approval date (that was wrong, it’s 12 weeks from 7 August not the approval date)

Advise me to contact citizenship support like they advised you (which I did and got nowhere)

Contact complaints@homeoffice.gov.uk (which I did and they refused to uphold my complaint and just told me to wait)

This helpline is ran by a third party company which gets their information from Home Office by email. There is very little they can do apart from changing your address if you move. However, the lady I spoke to did say that if the letter doesn’t arrive by the 30th October, they might be able to do something about it. But categorically nothing if I contact my MP lol

nnn15 · Post by **nnn15** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 6:26 pm

uuee6543 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 4:41 pm

nnn15 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:26 pm
Are they able to assist if you don't involve your MP? The only recommendation they gave me was to email citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk, I emailed twice and haven't got any response at all.
So far they haven’t been able to assist me except:
Originally giving me wrong information stating that I should expect my invitation letter within 8-12 weeks from my approval date (that was wrong, it’s 12 weeks from 7 August not the approval date)

Advise me to contact citizenship support like they advised you (which I did and got nowhere)

Contact complaints@homeoffice.gov.uk (which I did and they refused to uphold my complaint and just told me to wait)
This helpline is ran by a third party company which gets their information from Home Office by email. There is very little they can do apart from changing your address if you move. However, the lady I spoke to did say that if the letter doesn’t arrive by the 30th October, they might be able to do something about it. But categorically nothing if I contact my MP lol

Given they didn't stick to the timelines they communicated several times in the past I find it hard to trust the next timeline. From that prospective contacting the MP actually might help resolve this issue - it seems that applications are processed fairly quickly, but the delay is in printing and sending the certificates for already approved applicants - hopefully it should be straightforward to complete that step.

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