Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

From a Westminster registrar:

Hello xxx

We do not have your certificate as yet. We are now getting regular deliveries. You will get an invitation at the same time we get your certificate. You can then book a small group or private ceremony online:

https://www.westminster.gov.uk/arrange- ... p-ceremony

KInd regards

After 20 working days I had this response from complaint department very disappointing though same generic response.

I am sorry for any concern or frustration, but I am unable to uphold your complaint as there has been no maladministration on the part of the business. I will now explain further in respect of this.

The caseworking teams are currently working with Local Authorities throughout the UK and with overseas diplomatic posts as they begin to resume Citizenship Ceremonies. Service has not yet returned to normal due to continuing adherence to Government advice on social distancing – which is subject to some local and International variance.

Made complaint to prime minister let’s see....

Thank you for your message.

Please note that the Prime Minister’s Office is a part of the Cabinet Office, a Government Department.

Reply:
Your message has been passed to the relevant Government Department for their attention.

rozearo wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:51 am

Malikg123 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:35 am

Congratulations dear.

rozearo wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:31 am

I just want to thanks admins and everybody for that nice forum. I would go mad if I was in that boat alone, but I was here with all of you updating each other, expressing our frustration but keeping the hope

Finally after a very very long wait (application: end of January 2020), I received the invitation today. The long wait is approaching the end.Just need to wait for my certificates to reach my council (Checked this morning, did not arrive yet).

Hopefully, it will arrive soon. I will update on the timeline once I will get my certificate.

Good luck everybody

Thanks
Good luck for all of us. We still need it for ceremony and Passport application.

My Invitation arrived on the same day that council received my certificate (a bit unusual). Spoken to my council yesterday morning and nothing was received, but after I received the invitation yesterday I called them again and they told my that they have just received mine.

Good luck every body. My application was approved Mid April, but invitaion only received yesterday. So, be patient every body. You invitation will arrive soon. I posted my timeline at:

https://www.immigrationboards.com/briti ... l#p1931884

rozearo wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 04, 2020 9:45 pm

rozearo wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:51 am

Malikg123 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:35 am

Congratulations dear.

rozearo wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:31 am

I just want to thanks admins and everybody for that nice forum. I would go mad if I was in that boat alone, but I was here with all of you updating each other, expressing our frustration but keeping the hope

Finally after a very very long wait (application: end of January 2020), I received the invitation today. The long wait is approaching the end.Just need to wait for my certificates to reach my council (Checked this morning, did not arrive yet).

Hopefully, it will arrive soon. I will update on the timeline once I will get my certificate.

Good luck everybody

Thanks
Good luck for all of us. We still need it for ceremony and Passport application.

My Invitation arrived on the same day that council received my certificate (a bit unusual). Spoken to my council yesterday morning and nothing was received, but after I received the invitation yesterday I called them again and they told my that they have just received mine.

Good luck every body. My application was approved Mid April, but invitaion only received yesterday. So, be patient every body. You invitation will arrive soon. I posted my timeline at:

https://www.immigrationboards.com/briti ... l#p1931884

Congratulations

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...

HI Maria,

Iam with H&F and got my approval 2nd of July,2020 decision 29th June,2020 and got nothing ive sent email to council friday unfortunately no certificate received.

Duded2002 wrote: ↑

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

Thanks dear managed got the date for ceremony.

BoyTed wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 04, 2020 11:25 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...

HI Maria,

Iam with H&F and got my approval 2nd of July,2020 decision 29th June,2020 and got nothing ive sent email to council friday unfortunately no certificate received.

Hello BoyTed, thank you for your update. My spouse also waiting ceremony invitation with H&F Council, with approval date 2 June 2020 (email & letter received 10 days later), ceremony invitation letter pending. Which contact email address did you use to get in touch with them?

Thanks.

I've been waiting for my invite since the middle of may and keeping spirits high till I walked back in from the gym 10 mins ago with a brown envelope with my council name on it.

You needed to see how elated i felt with joy in my heart singing 'finally'. And then, I carefully opened it to make sure i didnt rip the edges. Guess what?

It was the council asking me to confirm my electoral data. Its all good. Now I can go back to minding my business.

Have a great day fellas.

mr_iyamu wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:01 pm

I've been waiting for my invite since the middle of may and keeping spirits high till I walked back in from the gym 10 mins ago with a brown envelope with my council name on it.

You needed to see how elated i felt with joy in my heart singing 'finally'. And then, I carefully opened it to make sure i didnt rip the edges. Guess what?

It was the council asking me to confirm my electoral data. Its all good. Now I can go back to minding my business.

Have a great day fellas.

You don't really need the physical letter itself. It acts more like a notification to book the ceremony, i.e. that the naturalisation certificate is now with your local council and you should book with them.

ariskar wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:04 pm

mr_iyamu wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:01 pm

I've been waiting for my invite since the middle of may and keeping spirits high till I walked back in from the gym 10 mins ago with a brown envelope with my council name on it.

You needed to see how elated i felt with joy in my heart singing 'finally'. And then, I carefully opened it to make sure i didnt rip the edges. Guess what?

It was the council asking me to confirm my electoral data. Its all good. Now I can go back to minding my business.

Have a great day fellas.

You don't really need the physical letter itself. It acts more like a notification to book the ceremony, i.e. that the naturalisation certificate is now with your local council and you should book with them.

Yes but some councils refuse to book you in if you do not have the letter even if they have your certificate.

What we learned through this process is to develop some patience.
At first I was upset with this ridiculous wait but now I accepted the situation as there is nothing we can do about it.
What concerns me the most though, is that there are time limits when we must partake in ceremony, half a year from the date on the invitation letter. The problem is they print these months before sending these out. As mentioned by other participants, they have one date on the invitation letter but the letter is received months after printing it.
If the backlogs grows, the delays will be more than 1-2 months from printed to received, hence giving us less or no time at all to book the ceremony.
Hope I'm overreacting.
May the patience be with you

ariskar wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:04 pm

mr_iyamu wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:01 pm

I've been waiting for my invite since the middle of may and keeping spirits high till I walked back in from the gym 10 mins ago with a brown envelope with my council name on it.

You needed to see how elated i felt with joy in my heart singing 'finally'. And then, I carefully opened it to make sure i didnt rip the edges. Guess what?

It was the council asking me to confirm my electoral data. Its all good. Now I can go back to minding my business.

Have a great day fellas.

You don't really need the physical letter itself. It acts more like a notification to book the ceremony, i.e. that the naturalisation certificate is now with your local council and you should book with them.

I do mate. Tired of wasting my valuable time speaking to people on the phone and then they sound like they are really helping you when they are following a script.

I wont waste my breath only to get angry after the call. Wait I shall.

Has anyone here from Brent Council received invitation? We were approved early July and still waiting for certificate and invitation.

fbaig76 wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 1:49 pm

Has anyone here from Brent Council received invitation? We were approved early July and still waiting for certificate and invitation.

I got approval in the middle of June, still no invitation letter from Brent council sadly. I'm going to try and contact them via the online form (I'm not big on phoning) and see if there's any information I can get about timelines.

FreshFromTheGrave wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 2:41 pm

fbaig76 wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 1:49 pm

Has anyone here from Brent Council received invitation? We were approved early July and still waiting for certificate and invitation.

I got approval in the middle of June, still no invitation letter from Brent council sadly. I'm going to try and contact them via the online form (I'm not big on phoning) and see if there's any information I can get about timelines.

I am waiting on a letter too to attend my ceremony at Brent and got approved very early in June. I haven't recieved anything. The last time I called was 10 days ago. They informed me that they couldn't disclose which months they received the certificates for. The home office said that my letter hasn't been printed or been dispatched yet and that it is on a que to be printed.

Please do let us once you get it

I think it will be interesting to see when people who submitted their biometrics when UKVCAS reopened start receiving their invitation letters. In my opinion it seems HO is prioritising printing certificates for people who submitted their biometrics pre-lockdown regardless of approval date. In my case I submitted my biometrics on the first day they reopened (1st June) so I will update you all when I receive my letter.

mrduplicity wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:49 pm

I think it will be interesting to see when people who submitted their biometrics when UKVCAS reopened start receiving their invitation letters. In my opinion it seems HO is prioritising printing certificates for people who submitted their biometrics pre-lockdown regardless of approval date. In my case I submitted my biometrics on the first day they reopened (1st June) so I will update you all when I receive my letter.

I highly doubt it. I saw here people who've got their invitation letter after being approved in July/August, while I submitted my application in February and had my biometrics before the lockdown (got approval email in May, but believe that I was probably approved back in March) and still didn't get my invitation. I think that it's pretty random.

Lopand wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:41 pm

mrduplicity wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:49 pm

I think it will be interesting to see when people who submitted their biometrics when UKVCAS reopened start receiving their invitation letters. In my opinion it seems HO is prioritising printing certificates for people who submitted their biometrics pre-lockdown regardless of approval date. In my case I submitted my biometrics on the first day they reopened (1st June) so I will update you all when I receive my letter.

I highly doubt it. I saw here people who've got their invitation letter after being approved in July/August, while I submitted my application in February and had my biometrics before the lockdown (got approval email in May, but believe that I was probably approved back in March) and still didn't get my invitation. I think that it's pretty random.

Right but I'm saying they're probably going to be sending invitations to people who did their biometrics before lockdown before they send it to anyone who did their biometrics post UKVCAS reopening. And I did say regardless of approval date. Even if you haven't received your invitation yet you will probably receive it before me who did biometrics in June and had my approval in June just a month after you.

mr_iyamu wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 1:10 pm

I do mate. Tired of wasting my valuable time speaking to people on the phone and then they sound like they are really helping you when they are following a script.

I wont waste my breath only to get angry after the call. Wait I shall.

I can understand you, we are on the same boat. But imagine for instance in my spouse case the application was sent July 2019, approval June 2020 and invitation letter not yet.... how annoyed can someone be by the competence and performance of this public service?

Imagine a refugee with ILR and no travel document waiting to get his first British passport. Should that person waste time energy and money to get a CTD because of ceremony delays?

Imagine a ILR/ permanent resident stuck abroad due to Covid-19 who may need to do a whole lot of logistics exercise to return for the ceremony or arrange it with a local embassy, having all this uncertainty of timing....

Or people planning essential travel abroad...

And many many other potentially unfortunate situations.

Extraordinary conditions bring exception cases to the fore. Hence this delay impacting approved applicants differently. As a naturalised citizen myself (a few years ago) I never needed to present to anyone my invitation letter to book the ceremony. Just providing personal experience info. If you check the timeline thread, this is the case of many booking and attending ceremonies before/without the invitation arriving.

Calling or emailing the local authority is a nuisance indeed for both sides. However, an unavoidable one, given the Home Office performance on this matter.

There is literally no service standard in sending out printout letters and certificates... Such a difficult and onerous task...

Hi Ariskar,
You are right it's frustrating and only thing to do is being patient as you said.
I've contacted the council several times using this email
RegisterOffice@lbhf.gov.uk and they reply promptly.
Goodluck to all of us waiting.

ariskar wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 11:57 am

BoyTed wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 04, 2020 11:25 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...

HI Maria,

Iam with H&F and got my approval 2nd of July,2020 decision 29th June,2020 and got nothing ive sent email to council friday unfortunately no certificate received.

Hello BoyTed, thank you for your update. My spouse also waiting ceremony invitation with H&F Council, with approval date 2 June 2020 (email & letter received 10 days later), ceremony invitation letter pending. Which contact email address did you use to get in touch with them?

Thanks.

BoyTed wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 10:02 am

Hi Ariskar,
You are right it's frustrating and only thing to do is being patient as you said.
I've contacted the council several times using this email
RegisterOffice@lbhf.gov.uk and they reply promptly.
Goodluck to all of us waiting.

Thanks mate, really appreciate this.

Frustrating is an understatement. After waiting 11 months to get the decision/approval (Jul-19 to Jun-20), we are already waiting another 3+ months for a bloody letter... how difficult can this be? I bet they procure headphones, not printers, paper and prepaid envelopes to public servants "working" from home

80% of civil servants are either not working or working from home. How they are working no one knows. Staying at home since pandemic made them lazy and would not like to work. Now they are talking about second peak, so that they can enjoy more holidays. It will take more time to bring them back to use to work which will be more challenging.
Carry on ....

Ouch. It hurts. Still waiting.

First I lost my chance to apply for a maintenance loan because of my circumstances and now I'm heading towards losing my business on Amazon. They require account verification and only seem to accept passport for identity/ residency proof. I did spoke to the customer support team and was told, "you may try uploading your BRP in passport field" but she wasn't sure and asked me to email the seller verification team for assistance. In short, next month when my passport expires, I'll have all my funds on Amazon put on hold, possible get a deadline until they suspend me off the platform.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -home.html

Now it makes sense why aren't any certificates being printed, NO One is in the office!!

Hi,
It is taking so that i have manage to move to different place, will simple post office redirection service would be enough to get invitation letter to a new address? is 6 months redirection enough?

I try to reach essex council but no one is replying for the last two months, at the moment they are only able to collect council tax