Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

I got my approval letter 1st July and just received my invitation letter dated 1st October - although it only arrived in the post a few days ago. Called up today and booked my ceremony. They're accepting bookings up to 90 days after receiving your invitation rather than the 21 days stated on the letter, but obviously check with your council. My council (Brent) is only doing private in person ceremonies during the lockdown for a fee, no guests allowed but they said free group ceremonies will begin again in December. I didn't want to wait as I've been waiting since March (when I first submitted my application) so I just booked in a private one. Good luck to everyone waiting

I went to my original post and found it locked. It shows how long my journey has been. I hope this gives someone hope:

UPDATE

Eligibility criteria: 5 years refugee settlement+ 18 months ILR
Date of application: 12th February 2016
Rejected: May 2017 (10 Year rule)
Re-Applied: 01 August 2019
Date of approval: 30 June 2020 (letter received by post on 4 July)
28 October 2020: Council called to say they have my certificate and to book ceremony (I still have not received my invitation letter)
Date of ceremony: 03 November 2020 (Virtual)
Date applied for passports: When my certificate arrives tomorrow
Date passports received: With Covid plus a ban on international travel I am in no hurry. Just relieved that I am now a Brit.

4 long years but the journey is over.

God bless this site and all the helpful people on it. Good luck to you all.

I have no words. Councils who have certificates are not going to continue cermonies in lockdown on other hand councils who dont have certificates are saying we will be open during lockdown.

Katie9 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 2:11 pm

Hello everyone.
I was wondering if anyone had dealt with Glasgow City Council at all?

I'm from Glasgow. Got approved early Aug still no sign of invitation letter. Contacted ho but no response. Council is not giving any info until I receive invitation letter. Its so confusing.

Hi All , i emailed Tower Hamlets council and they informed me that yesterday they received a batch of approvals for August and that I need to check back with them in a few weeks regarding my Certificate as I was approved in October. Tower Hamlets council are now conducting virtual ceremonies but i'm not sure how much the cost is

Hi guys, I've been following this post for a few weeks now and I just wanted to thank everyone for the information and support provided, and particularly to baybars1 for all their work!

Without this forum I think like many of us here I would have felt very lost and anxious, given the absolute lack or consistency of information from the Home Office. The fact that each council acts differently and according to their own rules is also completely unfair, but ultimately I don't feel the councils are to blame for this mess... After all we have all paid up to £2000 to the Home Office for what feels like a scam!

In any case I am writing to give an update on Brighton & Hove council, as they allowed me to book in for a ceremony today even without an invitation letter from HO.
Approval date: 08 July 2020
Invitation letter: Not received
Ceremony attended: 02 November 2020

The only reason I was able to book and attend a ceremony is because of baybars' model and the fact I contacted my council with the information provided by you guys, otherwise I would have had no clue!
The council employees were extremely helpful and replied to me pretty much immediately every time I contacted them - the same cannot be said for HO, who did not reply at all to emails sent two months ago.
I was able to attend the ceremony without an invitation letter, I only had to bring in my approval letter from HO.
I did not have to pay any fees for the private ceremony - they are only offering those at the moment - but they will not be able to do any more ceremonies from Thursday and until lockdown is eased.

I have tried to sign the petition but as a few of you said, there's currently a message that the petition is being evaluated and cannot be signed yet. I think it is very important that everyone - even those of us who have been lucky enough to get our certificate before the end of the year - should sign the petition and get as many friends and relatives to sign too, because the system is clearly broken but it would take very little effort to fix it!

In the past year most office-based employers in the UK and globally have had to quickly adapt to working from home and digitalising / automating outdated and manual processes, and have done so successfully, so it seems absurd that a government agency that is still making so much profit is unable to adjust.

Anyways thanks again to everyone and best of luck!

Mo6193 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 6:03 pm

Katie9 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 2:11 pm

Hello everyone.
I was wondering if anyone had dealt with Glasgow City Council at all?

I'm from Glasgow. Got approved early Aug still no sign of invitation letter. Contacted ho but no response. Council is not giving any info until I receive invitation letter. Its so confusing.

Hi Katie9 and Mo6193,

I am awaiting from Glasgow too, would you mind sharing your timeline from from submission date to decision outcome?

I suspect as Glasgow city council has resumed the ceremonies well after the English councils, thats why most of us are still awaiting ...

I applied 13 Jan and being told of approval 01 July. Over 4 months but still didn’t get any reply.

Katie9 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 2:11 pm

Hello everyone.
I was wondering if anyone had dealt with Glasgow City Council at all?

I emailed registrar office and they phoned back saying they did not have any certificate with my name, it was 3 weeks before ... if you just call to the registrar office, they would not have much to give any update.

When was your approval?

Hi All, here is a glimpse of hope for all of us waiting on invitations. My approval date is first week of September, I contacted Leeds City Council if they have received my certificate and surprisingly they have received my certificate on 2nd of November but because of national lockdown they have now suspended all citizenship ceremonies. I guess we are nearly there and need a little bit more patience. Hopefully we will all get through this difficult time together. Good Luck all waiting on invitations and ceremonies.

Hi all,

Has anyone from July approval, heard from Newham council or contacted them recently to find out if they have received the certificates?

The only contact email I could find was customer.services@newham.gov.uk. I had sent an email way back in July (my approval is 17/ July) and followed on the same thread few days ago. Radio silence.

Calling them on the number from the website (020 8430 2000) is not helpful as you can't get through to a human. The IVRS journey always ends without any helpful suggestion.

Thanks in advance.!

icecube65 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:04 pm

Hi all,

Has anyone from July approval, heard from Newham council or contacted them recently to find out if they have received the certificates?

The only contact email I could find was customer.services@newham.gov.uk. I had sent an email way back in July (my approval is 17/ July) and followed on the same thread few days ago. Radio silence.

Calling them on the number from the website (020 8430 2000) is not helpful as you can't get through to a human. The IVRS journey always ends without any helpful suggestion.

Thanks in advance.!

Hi icecube,

I called them earlier today to ask if they received my certificate (August approval) but they hadn't. I called on that same number you listed and said 'citizenship ceremony' when prompted. Then go through the option of cancelling a ceremony if you want to speak to a human since every other option is automated.

The lady on the phone assured me that ceremonies will continue as normal despite new lockdown rules, she also told me that the next available slots are for January at the moment, although I'm not sure how exact that is. You should also check on the council website to see if you can book your ceremony maybe? You can enter your home office reference number even if you haven't received your letter.

No idea on what batches they are currently sorting through as I didn't really ask. Let me know if you need help finding the link to check if your certificate is on their system

luckylucky7 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:10 pm

icecube65 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:04 pm

Hi all,

Has anyone from July approval, heard from Newham council or contacted them recently to find out if they have received the certificates?

The only contact email I could find was customer.services@newham.gov.uk. I had sent an email way back in July (my approval is 17/ July) and followed on the same thread few days ago. Radio silence.

Calling them on the number from the website (020 8430 2000) is not helpful as you can't get through to a human. The IVRS journey always ends without any helpful suggestion.

Thanks in advance.!

Hi icecube,

I called them earlier today to ask if they received my certificate (August approval) but they hadn't. I called on that same number you listed and said 'citizenship ceremony' when prompted. Then go through the option of cancelling a ceremony if you want to speak to a human since every other option is automated.

The lady on the phone assured me that ceremonies will continue as normal despite new lockdown rules, she also told me that the next available slots are for January at the moment, although I'm not sure how exact that is. You should also check on the council website to see if you can book your ceremony maybe? You can enter your home office reference number even if you haven't received your letter.

No idea on what batches they are currently sorting through as I didn't really ask. Let me know if you need help finding the link to check if your certificate is on their system

Amazing. You're a star, thank you. Will give this a go for actually speaking to someone.

Since 17/ July I have been checking on the council website using the HO "Our Reference" number which is on the Approval email. I have been doing this at least twice a day like a mad person. The only thing I keep seeing is the "Home Office reference not found".

Will ring them up on Thursday and see if that miraculously changes anything.

icecube65 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:20 pm

luckylucky7 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:10 pm

icecube65 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:04 pm

Hi all,

Has anyone from July approval, heard from Newham council or contacted them recently to find out if they have received the certificates?

The only contact email I could find was customer.services@newham.gov.uk. I had sent an email way back in July (my approval is 17/ July) and followed on the same thread few days ago. Radio silence.

Calling them on the number from the website (020 8430 2000) is not helpful as you can't get through to a human. The IVRS journey always ends without any helpful suggestion.

Thanks in advance.!

Hi icecube,

I called them earlier today to ask if they received my certificate (August approval) but they hadn't. I called on that same number you listed and said 'citizenship ceremony' when prompted. Then go through the option of cancelling a ceremony if you want to speak to a human since every other option is automated.

The lady on the phone assured me that ceremonies will continue as normal despite new lockdown rules, she also told me that the next available slots are for January at the moment, although I'm not sure how exact that is. You should also check on the council website to see if you can book your ceremony maybe? You can enter your home office reference number even if you haven't received your letter.

No idea on what batches they are currently sorting through as I didn't really ask. Let me know if you need help finding the link to check if your certificate is on their system

Amazing. You're a star, thank you. Will give this a go for actually speaking to someone.

Since 17/ July I have been checking on the council website using the HO "Our Reference" number which is on the Approval email. I have been doing this at least twice a day like a mad person. The only thing I keep seeing is the "Home Office reference not found".

Will ring them up on Thursday and see if that miraculously changes anything.

Tell me about it I've been checking the site daily too, hopefully we'll be able to book our ceremonies soon! Fingers crossed

hello
is there anyone from slough council? are they doing ceremony or they have stopped? and if you call them will they check if the have the certificate or you have to wait for invitation letter?

Any updates from Kent County Council? (Maidstone) Any answer really appreciated.

I got my approval email on 10th of July and still waiting for the ceremony invitation letter. It’s so frustrating as my sister and I applied the same time and she has even applied for her passport while I’m still waiting for this flipping letter!

Has anyone here had any interaction with Harrow council in London?

Congratulations to those who have hd ceremonies.

I am angry with mcr council and HO. I am end of July approval and yet to get my letter and the council said they haven't received my certificate.

The ones they received yesterday was end of June and beginning of July and then they say they would not be doing ceremonies.

This is just annoying. I have sent my MP and Mayor of Manchester email this evening with my complain. Hopefully something good will come out of it.

I wonder if anyone has received a reply from citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk?
I have emailed the above regarding my invitation letter three times in the last 3 months and still no reply.
In the current set up or the Home Office attitudes as you like, there is no way to find out if my certificate has been already printed or when will I get the invitation letter.
There is also no way to talk to anyone at the HO who can provide you any real update at all.
Yeah... and then on the other side, you have Croydon Council doing what they do best – happily following those so-called "national restrictions" and closing everything up. No common sense, no solution, comfortable being stuck in "stone age" bubble. Just Great! Covid - I am sick of this word.

Hello

I received my Ceremony Invitation letter more then a month ago but my Citizenship certificate is still not received by my council. I contacted Home Office on phone and they told me to send email on citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk. I sent them an email on this address few days ago but still no update.

can anyone please guide me what should i do now?

Thanks

Has anyone contacted or heard anything from West Sussex District Council?
I emailed them a couple of days ago and asked if they had received my certificate but have not had a reply.

imz2020 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 6:10 pm

Hi All , i emailed Tower Hamlets council and they informed me that yesterday they received a batch of approvals for August and that I need to check back with them in a few weeks regarding my Certificate as I was approved in October. Tower Hamlets council are now conducting virtual ceremonies but i'm not sure how much the cost is

Mr friend had his ceremony free. Virtual ceremonies are free! If even you haven’t got invitation letter just attend ceremony or ring council. As you were approved in October I doubt ho and councils are so efficient in approvals. Good luck

baybars1 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 1:27 pm

Councils cancelling citizenship ceremonies are taking advantage, trying to pull down salaries while providing no service, despite the Government guidance allowing them to continue doing their jobs:

A number of public services will also stay open and you will be able to leave home to visit them. These include:

• the NHS

• Courts

• Civil Registrations Offices

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-nationa ... 5-november

Lockdown restrictions apply only to some Civil Registration services, like weddings, civil partnerships and to an extent, funerals. There is no suggestion that citizenship ceremonies should be paused.

Further to this, some councils are continuing with citizenship ceremonies, clearly indicating that the others are taking advantage.

If I were affected by this, I would write a formal letter of complaint. There is a procedure for that purpose:

https://www.gov.uk/understand-how-your- ... -complaint

Thank you for this.

I’m still waiting to hear back from Birmingham Registry Office.
If they jump on that train like some other big councils did (who in my opinion should even do more than less regarding their huge backlog) and I get an email telling me as well they suspend ceremonies I’m going to send a letter with a formal complaint.

Also I’m very disappointed to see HO is NOT sending certificates in strict order.
Some people still waiting from May and June and a majority for July, pretty much everyone for August, but September approvals have their certificates send to their councils already?
That’s not ok (as much as I understand that’s good news for the individual as also them have had a two months wait at that stage) and doesn’t make a fair and professional impression.

Hi all,
New to the forum but been following on this thread a bit - my husband applied for citizenship in Feb/March time and got his approval via email in middle of July and have been awaiting his ceremony invite patiently. Did check with our local council (Norfolk) incase they had heard anything around Sept time but nothing. Have just received letter through the post yesterday saying he has had a ceremony booked at Ealing Council for middle of Nov as they have received his certificate from the HO (followed immediately by another letter saying that due to lockdown all ceremonies are cancelled though) So.......looks like HO have sent his paperwork to the wrong council? What should we do? Attempt to contact HO and Ealing council and get it changed to our local council or just sit and wait until after lockdown for Ealing council to restart ceremonies and attend whatever date they rebook him under? (As we still don’t have his invite through the post directly to us from HO yet either way which Ealing council says he needs to bring with him and technically we ‘could’ manage to drive the 2-3hours to Ealing and back for the ceremony.....albeit bit of a pain) I just know how difficult contacting HO and getting things changed is and not sure if just sitting on our hands and making the best of what we now have is a better option........

Sez2004 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 04, 2020 8:22 am

Hi all,
New to the forum but been following on this thread a bit - my husband applied for citizenship in Feb/March time and got his approval via email in middle of July and have been awaiting his ceremony invite patiently. Did check with our local council (Norfolk) incase they had heard anything around Sept time but nothing. Have just received letter through the post yesterday saying he has had a ceremony booked at Ealing Council for middle of Nov as they have received his certificate from the HO (followed immediately by another letter saying that due to lockdown all ceremonies are cancelled though) So.......looks like HO have sent his paperwork to the wrong council? What should we do? Attempt to contact HO and Ealing council and get it changed to our local council or just sit and wait until after lockdown for Ealing council to restart ceremonies and attend whatever date they rebook him under? (As we still don’t have his invite through the post directly to us from HO yet either way which Ealing council says he needs to bring with him and technically we ‘could’ manage to drive the 2-3hours to Ealing and back for the ceremony.....albeit bit of a pain) I just know how difficult contacting HO and getting things changed is and not sure if just sitting on our hands and making the best of what we now have is a better option........

Wow... this is unbelievable sending certificate to wrong council!!!. Who knows mabie some of us might have had our certificate sent to wrong council as well. That's why our local council are saying they don't have it...

I would suggest those who got confirmation their certificates have arrived at their councils to enquire if their details are spelled correctly.

As it happened now a few times people received at their ceremony certificates with wrong spelled names and those had to send them back for correction and waited another good amount of time.
For my friend it’s already 5 weeks since she has sent back her certificate for correction.

That’s just another wait that adds up towards the passport application and maybe if there are no ceremonies during the next weeks certificates can already send back for correction?