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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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oxana777
Junior Member
Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 5:39 pm
Mood:
Kazakhstan

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by oxana777 » Tue Dec 08, 2020 12:52 pm

Lespa wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 12:29 pm
oxana777 wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 12:11 pm
Lespa wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 11:33 am
Applied 14.April
Approved 24.September
Invitation letter received today 8.December (dated 30.November)

Awaiting to hear back from the Enfield Council for the ceremony date.
I have exactly the same time line!!!
Applied 14 April
Approved 24 Sept
Invitation letter received today! (8th december). Finally!
Hehe I know, I was following you as I know we had same timeline, hoping that you post you received invitation last week :D

Anyway, it appears that they are following, for the most part, approval dates in order.
Haha! I’m glad we are almost at the end of this journey! Finally!

woabgh
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Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2020 5:49 pm
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Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by woabgh » Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:15 pm

Lespa wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 12:29 pm
oxana777 wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 12:11 pm
Lespa wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 11:33 am
Applied 14.April
Approved 24.September
Invitation letter received today 8.December (dated 30.November)

Awaiting to hear back from the Enfield Council for the ceremony date.
I have exactly the same time line!!!
Applied 14 April
Approved 24 Sept
Invitation letter received today! (8th december). Finally!
Hehe I know, I was following you as I know we had same timeline, hoping that you post you received invitation last week :D

Anyway, it appears that they are following, for the most part, approval dates in order.
Congrats to both of you!
Same timeline as well, but no letter so far. Fingers crossed for later in the week I hope!

Ms NANCY
Newly Registered
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 2:56 pm

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Ms NANCY » Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:30 pm

I got this email from HO !!
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 despatched 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).

Does this mean they are not printing any certificates? The second lock down is already finished. What do they mean by when the current restrictions due to Coronavirus are eased?!!

Approved on 2 October.

oxana777
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Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 5:39 pm
Mood:
Kazakhstan

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by oxana777 » Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:37 pm

woabgh wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:15 pm
Lespa wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 12:29 pm
oxana777 wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 12:11 pm
Lespa wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 11:33 am
Applied 14.April
Approved 24.September
Invitation letter received today 8.December (dated 30.November)

Awaiting to hear back from the Enfield Council for the ceremony date.
I have exactly the same time line!!!
Applied 14 April
Approved 24 Sept
Invitation letter received today! (8th december). Finally!
Hehe I know, I was following you as I know we had same timeline, hoping that you post you received invitation last week :D

Anyway, it appears that they are following, for the most part, approval dates in order.
Congrats to both of you!
Same timeline as well, but no letter so far. Fingers crossed for later in the week I hope!
Hopefully you will receive everything this week! Good luck!

User avatar
dragon098
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Location: LONDON
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Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by dragon098 » Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:37 pm

Ms NANCY wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:30 pm
I got this email from HO !!
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 despatched 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).

Does this mean they are not printing any certificates? The second lock down is already finished. What do they mean by when the current restrictions due to Coronavirus are eased?!!

Approved on 2 October.
It is probably auto generated email/ copy paste email. They were printing during lockdown and now that it is over they're not printing. Somebody posted earlier that there was some technical issue. Not sure when they can restart again and print more batches.

I just did my own calculation on the users timeline and I came to conclusion that last/previous weeks most users got their Invitation printed within 7th week and by 8th week most of them had it but recently, I have seen that users invitation are being printed at 9th or 10th week and getting by 11th or 12th week.

approval date: 21 OCT

leo55
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Posts: 35
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Mood:

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by leo55 » Tue Dec 08, 2020 2:31 pm

Had my virtual ceremony done with Redbridge Council this morning. It was very quick and lasted only for 10 minutes. Certificate will be posted today by the Council. Hoping to receive soon.

My timeline.

Applied: 14/08/2020
Approval date via email: 11/09/20
HO Invitation letter dated: 04/11/20
Invitation letter received: 23/11/20
Emailed council for ceremony booking: 23/11/20
Received call from council: 30/11/20
Ceremony booked: 08/12/20

Off to Passport thread now :)

Thanks to Almighty and all my friends and moderators supported me on this forum.

Good luck to everyone still awaiting. Don't loose hope,there is light at the end of the tunnel.

User avatar
tier21419
Member of Standing
Posts: 322
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2016 2:46 pm
Pakistan

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by tier21419 » Tue Dec 08, 2020 2:55 pm

I think getting a reply (not a generic one) from NationalitySupportTeamFMT@homeoffice.gov.uk is all down to luck. I decided to send them an email last week as I saw that some users on this forum were getting a reply. I send them an email on Thursday and they did reply on Friday but I think without actually checking the system. The replied "Thank you for your e-mail. The invitation will be sent in as soon as possible. Obviously under the current circumstances -COVID-19, the process is taking longer than usual to complete."

However, my council received the certificate on Thursday and they contact me on Friday.

ilrqs
Newly Registered
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:55 am

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by ilrqs » Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:23 pm

Sharing my timelines after 11 weeks for anyone that's feeling a bit despondent!

Applied: 31/05/2020
Biometrics (app): 27/08/2020
Approval email: 24/09/2020
Invitation letter: Waiting (will be Southwark council)

BGV
Newly Registered
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2020 7:43 pm
Hungary

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by BGV » Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:57 pm

oxana777 wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 12:11 pm
Lespa wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 11:33 am
Applied 14.April
Approved 24.September
Invitation letter received today 8.December (dated 30.November)

Awaiting to hear back from the Enfield Council for the ceremony date.
I have exactly the same time line!!!
Applied 14 April
Approved 24 Sept
Invitation letter received today! (8th december). Finally!
Today, Dec 8, I Received an Invitation letter from HO too.
The letter dated Nov 30. Date of approval - Sept 24.
Spot-on, as baybars1 predicted. Good luck everyone!

mrmo93
Junior Member
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:51 pm
Mood:
Sweden

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by mrmo93 » Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:00 pm

baybars1 wrote:
Mon Oct 19, 2020 5:03 pm
Updated model based on the data supplied by 50 members of the forum.

Approved on -- Letter date - - - ----Letter arrival, date range------------
22/06/2020 - - - 28/09/2020 - - - from 05/10/2020 - - - to 19/10/2020
29/06/2020 - - - 01/10/2020 - - - from 08/10/2020 - - - to 22/10/2020
01/07/2020 - - - 02/10/2020 - - - from 09/10/2020 - - - to 23/10/2020
09/07/2020 - - - 07/10/2020 - - - from 14/10/2020 - - - to 28/10/2020
15/07/2020 - - - 09/10/2020 - - - from 16/10/2020 - - - to 30/10/2020
22/07/2020 - - - 14/10/2020 - - - from 21/10/2020 - - - to 04/11/2020
29/07/2020 - - - 16/10/2020 - - - from 23/10/2020 - - - to 06/11/2020
01/08/2020 - - - 19/10/2020 - - - from 26/10/2020 - - - to 09/11/2020
08/08/2020 - - - 22/10/2020 - - - from 29/10/2020 - - - to 12/11/2020
15/08/2020 - - - 27/10/2020 - - - from 03/11/2020 - - - to 17/11/2020
19/08/2020 - - - 28/10/2020 - - - from 04/11/2020 - - - to 18/11/2020
29/08/2020 - - - 03/11/2020 - - - from 10/11/2020 - - - to 24/11/2020
01/09/2020 - - - 04/11/2020 - - - from 11/11/2020 - - - to 25/11/2020
08/09/2020 - - - 06/11/2020 - - - from 13/11/2020 - - - to 27/11/2020
15/09/2020 - - - 11/11/2020 - - - from 18/11/2020 - - - to 02/12/2020
22/09/2020 - - - 16/11/2020 - - - from 23/11/2020 - - - to 07/12/2020
29/09/2020 - - - 18/11/2020 - - - from 25/11/2020 - - - to 09/12/2020
01/10/2020 - - - 19/11/2020 - - - from 26/11/2020 - - - to 10/12/2020
08/10/2020 - - - 24/11/2020 - - - from 01/12/2020 - - - to 15/12/2020
15/10/2020 - - - 27/11/2020 - - - from 04/12/2020 - - - to 18/12/2020
22/10/2020 - - - 01/12/2020 - - - from 08/12/2020 - - - to 22/12/2020
29/10/2020 - - - 04/12/2020 - - - from 11/12/2020 - - - to 25/12/2020
01/11/2020 - - - 04/12/2020 - - - from 11/12/2020 - - - to 25/12/2020
08/11/2020 - - - 09/12/2020 - - - from 16/12/2020 - - - to 30/12/2020
15/11/2020 - - - 14/12/2020 - - - from 21/12/2020 - - - to 04/01/2021
22/11/2020 - - - 16/12/2020 - - - from 23/12/2020 - - - to 06/01/2021
29/11/2020 - - - 21/12/2020 - - - from 28/12/2020 - - - to 11/01/2021
01/12/2020 - - - 22/12/2020 - - - from 29/12/2020 - - - to 12/01/2021
08/12/2020 - - - 25/12/2020 - - - from 01/01/2021 - - - to 15/01/2021
15/12/2020 - - - 29/12/2020 - - - from 05/01/2021 - - - to 19/01/2021
22/12/2020 - - - 01/01/2021 - - - from 08/01/2021 - - - to 22/01/2021
29/12/2020 - - - 05/01/2021 - - - from 12/01/2021 - - - to 26/01/2021
02/01/2021 - - - 07/01/2021 - - - from 14/01/2021 - - - to 28/01/2021
08/01/2021 - - - 12/01/2021 - - - from 19/01/2021 - - - to 02/02/2021
15/01/2021 - - - 15/01/2021 - - - from 22/01/2021 - - - to 05/02/2021

korben555
Newly Registered
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2020 7:03 pm
Ukraine

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by korben555 » Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:17 pm

Hi everyone .
Guys, can you inform me- which council provides ceremony without asking for an invitation letter ?
Surely, a couple weeks ago there was such news.
I will try to use that during discussion with my Hounslow council.
Approved on 18.08.
Certificate received by council on 18.11.

qasimspp
Newly Registered
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:41 am

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by qasimspp » Wed Dec 09, 2020 3:38 am

leo55 wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 2:31 pm
Had my virtual ceremony done with Redbridge Council this morning. It was very quick and lasted only for 10 minutes. Certificate will be posted today by the Council. Hoping to receive soon.

My timeline.

Applied: 14/08/2020
Approval date via email: 11/09/20
HO Invitation letter dated: 04/11/20
Invitation letter received: 23/11/20
Emailed council for ceremony booking: 23/11/20
Received call from council: 30/11/20
Ceremony booked: 08/12/20

Off to Passport thread now :)

Thanks to Almighty and all my friends and moderators supported me on this forum.

Good luck to everyone still awaiting. Don't loose hope,there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Hi have they charge you for virtual Ceremony.

ilrqs
Newly Registered
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:55 am

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by ilrqs » Wed Dec 09, 2020 12:31 pm

Well I jumped the gun last night and should have been patient one more day, exactly as Baybars' model had told me! And Southwark council had a slot for my ceremony straight away, so within the space of a few hours it's finally done, such a relief.

Applied: 31/05/2020 (South African, ILR)
Biometrics (app): 27/08/2020
Approval email: 24/09/2020
Invitation letter received: 09/12/2020
Letter dated: 30/11/2020
Ceremony Date: 09/12/2020 (Southwark, virtual, private, free, 10 minutes)

Good luck everyone still waiting!

qoolnaren
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Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 1:49 pm
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Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by qoolnaren » Wed Dec 09, 2020 3:41 pm

Hello Friends,

Today received DBS certificate.
I assume this could be because I declared FPN in my application.

Eligibility criteria: 5 Years + 1 Year ILR
Language/LIUK Criteria: NARIC degree + LITUK Test
Nationality: Non-EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 27 August 2020
Receipt of your application: 28 August 2020
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 29 August 2020:
Documents submitted to UKVI: 05 September 2020
Biometric reuse email: N/A
Invitation to use UKVCAS IDV APP or Biometrics: 02 September 2020
Photo and document submitted using IDV APP or Biometrics: 18 September 2020 (UKVCAS Centre)
Date of Approval letter: 15 October 2020:
Date of receipt of approval: 15 October 2020 (By email)
DBS Issued: 06 Dec 2020
DBS Received: 09 Dec 2020


Date of receipt of ceremony letter: Pending
Date of Ceremony: Pending

naruto
Junior Member
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2010 5:12 pm
Location: uk manchester
Malta

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by naruto » Wed Dec 09, 2020 3:46 pm

qoolnaren wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 3:41 pm
Hello Friends,

Today received DBS certificate.
I assume this could be because I declared FPN in my application.

Eligibility criteria: 5 Years + 1 Year ILR
Language/LIUK Criteria: NARIC degree + LITUK Test
Nationality: Non-EU
Method of application: Online
Application sent & fee paid: 27 August 2020
Receipt of your application: 28 August 2020
Document Upload to UKVCAS: 29 August 2020:
Documents submitted to UKVI: 05 September 2020
Biometric reuse email: N/A
Invitation to use UKVCAS IDV APP or Biometrics: 02 September 2020
Photo and document submitted using IDV APP or Biometrics: 18 September 2020 (UKVCAS Centre)
Date of Approval letter: 15 October 2020:
Date of receipt of approval: 15 October 2020 (By email)
DBS Issued: 06 Dec 2020
DBS Received: 09 Dec 2020


Date of receipt of ceremony letter: Pending
Date of Ceremony: Pending

Hey I had exactly the same thing my dbs was requested on the 03-12-2020 and the dbs certificate arrived on the 07-12-2020

My approval was on 23-10-2020

Let’s hope we getting the invitation letter soon fingers crossed 🤞 to all who are waiting
LaDolceVita

imz2020
Newly Registered
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 11:45 pm
Brazil

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by imz2020 » Wed Dec 09, 2020 3:50 pm

Hi,

how can I check when HO requested my DBS and received the certificate? does it mean they are doing another check before issuing the ceremony letters?

thanks,
Imad

Soo123
Junior Member
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2020 1:23 pm
Pakistan

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Soo123 » Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:01 pm

Finalllyyyyy the is here to leave this forum and join the first adult British passport forum

Massive thanks to all the people in this forum and special thanks to baybars1

My time line is below

Applied on 14 December 2019
Biometric on 16 December 2019
Approval email on the 4th August 2020
Received approval letter on 4 November 2020 with the date on approval letter of 10 th October

Council Hillingdon

Ceremony date 9-12-2020

Good luck to all

raij
Junior Member
Posts: 78
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 4:32 pm
Poland

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by raij » Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:47 pm

week 27 of waiting for ceremony invite . My Mp got told that the Home Office are investigating the matter and that a response will be received as soon as possible.
I keep pushing !

nnn15
Member
Posts: 193
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 11:55 am

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by nnn15 » Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:55 pm

raij wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:47 pm
week 27 of waiting for ceremony invite . My Mp got told that the Home Office are investigating the matter and that a response will be received as soon as possible.
I keep pushing !
I'm glad there seems to be some progress!
Did they specify anything about the issue? Was it a technical problem or something else? I'm wondering if our paperwork didn't get printed because of the same issue.
If they only need to print the certificates to rectify the problem in our case, I can't see why that would take weeks. Let's see if we get anything by the end of the year... If not, it will be a month in January - a reason to follow up as they said they would investigate it as an "urgent matter".

Dreams101
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Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2020 8:15 pm

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Dreams101 » Wed Dec 09, 2020 10:03 pm

nnn15 wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:55 pm
raij wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:47 pm
week 27 of waiting for ceremony invite . My Mp got told that the Home Office are investigating the matter and that a response will be received as soon as possible.
I keep pushing !
I'm glad there seems to be some progress!
Did they specify anything about the issue? Was it a technical problem or something else? I'm wondering if our paperwork didn't get printed because of the same issue.
If they only need to print the certificates to rectify the problem in our case, I can't see why that would take weeks. Let's see if we get anything by the end of the year... If not, it will be a month in January - a reason to follow up as they said they would investigate it as an "urgent matter".
Hi raij and nnn15.
The HO upheld my complaint and said that due to an "administrative error", my paperwork has not been printed and dispatched. However, the error has now been rectified.
Nevertheless, they said that they can't give me a date of when the certificate will be dispatched and that I have to wait and avoid contacting them or my council until I receive the invitation.

Not really sure what that means in terms of how long I am expected to wait now.
My interpretation is that I am now back to the end of the queue as if I have been approved today like anyone approved in December. So maybe I will have to wait till the end of January now.
Don't really know. Maybe I am wrong, and I will receive it earlier than that.
Anyways. I am going to forget about it for now and see what happens in the new year.

nnn15
Member
Posts: 193
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 11:55 am

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by nnn15 » Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:28 pm

Dreams101 wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 10:03 pm
nnn15 wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:55 pm
raij wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:47 pm
week 27 of waiting for ceremony invite . My Mp got told that the Home Office are investigating the matter and that a response will be received as soon as possible.
I keep pushing !
I'm glad there seems to be some progress!
Did they specify anything about the issue? Was it a technical problem or something else? I'm wondering if our paperwork didn't get printed because of the same issue.
If they only need to print the certificates to rectify the problem in our case, I can't see why that would take weeks. Let's see if we get anything by the end of the year... If not, it will be a month in January - a reason to follow up as they said they would investigate it as an "urgent matter".
Hi raij and nnn15.
The HO upheld my complaint and said that due to an "administrative error", my paperwork has not been printed and dispatched. However, the error has now been rectified.
Nevertheless, they said that they can't give me a date of when the certificate will be dispatched and that I have to wait and avoid contacting them or my council until I receive the invitation.

Not really sure what that means in terms of how long I am expected to wait now.
My interpretation is that I am now back to the end of the queue as if I have been approved today like anyone approved in December. So maybe I will have to wait till the end of January now.
Don't really know. Maybe I am wrong, and I will receive it earlier than that.
Anyways. I am going to forget about it for now and see what happens in the new year.
Thanks for updating us. This does sound like a mess.
By the way the HO also confirmed to me I'm actually a mid March approval. So the wait is approaching 9 months and no idea how much longer it's going to last, despite the fact the HO admitted they made a mistake.
The office of my MP sends an enquiry once a month if they don't hear back from the HO. They've sent 4 already. I'm hoping the HO would want to minimise the number of MP enquiries, especially if the issue is straightforward to resolve. And at some point it will be easier for them to just print and send the paperwork. The longer the wait, the higher the probability of further 'administrative errors' and 'technical problems'!

Did the HO tell you they are treating this issue as an urgent matter and will endeavour to dispatch the paperwork as soon as possible? That's what they told me in the email. They didn't follow through on any of the previously communicated timelines though, so I'm not too hopeful they will sort out the problem soon.

Dreams101
Newly Registered
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2020 8:15 pm

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Dreams101 » Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:42 pm

nnn15 wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:28 pm
Dreams101 wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 10:03 pm
nnn15 wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:55 pm
raij wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:47 pm
week 27 of waiting for ceremony invite . My Mp got told that the Home Office are investigating the matter and that a response will be received as soon as possible.
I keep pushing !
I'm glad there seems to be some progress!
Did they specify anything about the issue? Was it a technical problem or something else? I'm wondering if our paperwork didn't get printed because of the same issue.
If they only need to print the certificates to rectify the problem in our case, I can't see why that would take weeks. Let's see if we get anything by the end of the year... If not, it will be a month in January - a reason to follow up as they said they would investigate it as an "urgent matter".
Hi raij and nnn15.
The HO upheld my complaint and said that due to an "administrative error", my paperwork has not been printed and dispatched. However, the error has now been rectified.
Nevertheless, they said that they can't give me a date of when the certificate will be dispatched and that I have to wait and avoid contacting them or my council until I receive the invitation.

Not really sure what that means in terms of how long I am expected to wait now.
My interpretation is that I am now back to the end of the queue as if I have been approved today like anyone approved in December. So maybe I will have to wait till the end of January now.
Don't really know. Maybe I am wrong, and I will receive it earlier than that.
Anyways. I am going to forget about it for now and see what happens in the new year.
Thanks for updating us. This does sound like a mess.
By the way the HO also confirmed to me I'm actually a mid March approval. So the wait is approaching 9 months and no idea how much longer it's going to last, despite the fact the HO admitted they made a mistake.
The office of my MP sends an enquiry once a month if they don't hear back from the HO. They've sent 4 already. I'm hoping the HO would want to minimise the number of MP enquiries, especially if the issue is straightforward to resolve. And at some point it will be easier for them to just print and send the paperwork. The longer the wait, the higher the probability of further 'administrative errors' and 'technical problems'!

Did the HO tell you they are treating this issue as an urgent matter and will endeavour to dispatch the paperwork as soon as possible? That's what they told me in the email. They didn't follow through on any of the previously communicated timelines though, so I'm not too hopeful they will sort out the problem soon.
They didn't say anything about treating it like an urgent matter at all. Here's what they said:

" I regret that I am unable to provide an exact timescale for completion. Please do not contact your Local Authority until you have received your invitation as they will not have your certificate to conduct your ceremony before this."

I don't know what to say really. I don't wanna upset myself by thinking about it too much. But let's stay hopeful.

mrmo93
Junior Member
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:51 pm
Mood:
Sweden

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by mrmo93 » Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:42 pm

Oh man, Im really sorry everyone for this. They can easily just have you give an oath of affirmation or pledge in a special video section of the UKVAS website once your approved and you sign it digitally. THEN they dispatch your certificate. WOULDNT THAT BE EASIER?

LNDwaiting
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Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 1:34 am
Mood:

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by LNDwaiting » Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:11 am

nnn15 wrote:
Mon Dec 07, 2020 9:23 am
raij wrote:
Mon Dec 07, 2020 5:42 am
LNDwaiting wrote:
Mon Dec 07, 2020 2:16 am
I was approved in March 2020 and still waiting for an invitation letter from HO.

I have called 0300 790 6268 and no positive reply. They told me a couple of times that they will escalate, but nothing happened.

Have emailed on all the email addresses found on this forum, but no reply.

Have sent a complaint and they didnt reply within 20 days. So, I wrote another complain after 20 days.

Emailed MP, She never replied. Wrote to Minister for Future Borders and Immigration and his office replied immediately saying it has been forward to the relevant office. It was 10 days ago.

Does anyone have any positive outcome after they sent an email to UKVI and complaint?

I really dont know what shall I do next. I think we all who are approved before August should come together and write to Home Secretary. I said August because every time I call HO, they said all the approvals until August should have received the letter by Nov end.

Thanks
My Mp only done something after a cc him into the email i sent to labour leader, I like the idea of writing a joint letter. I am so sorry that you having to wait this long, i dont think anyone realized just how much bureaucracy is affecting lives/ mental health of people caught in it
As my wait time for the citizenship paperwork is approaching 9 months, I've done some research.

For the escalation, call 03001232253, options 1-2-2-2, explain you've been waiting from March and be prepared to give your case details. For me they escalated on the spot, I received an automatic email. But it seems so far neither myself nor raij got a meaningful response.

Some people say it's more effective if you write the Home Office a letter (their address is on the approval letter). I haven't tried this yet, but probably will as at this point I'm trying any option..

You can also try submitting a SAR request to the HO to get all the information about your application. Their service standard is 30 days, but I read online they often don't respond at all. I understand though they are obliged to provide this information by law.

You can submit a complaint and a complaint about a complaint on the HO website (for example, in the first complaint response the HO told me to wait 12 weeks, still nothing arrived, so I feel like I can submit a complaint they didn't deliver on what they promised in the first complaint). If after 2 complaints the issue is not resolved, the HO suggests to complain to the Ombudsman. I read here https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/news-and-b ... rt-reveals that the Ombudsman upholds 3 out of 4 complaints about the Home Office. I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has any experience with the Ombudsman and whether it's worth pursuing that route?
Apparently you need your MP signature to complain to the Ombudsman though, so probably best trying to reach out to your MP again, maybe call their office if they don't respond to emails?

Lastly, I asked a lawyer opinion on what can be done in this situation. They said chasing the HO a lot and theoretically it is possible to threaten them with a judicial review if they don't respond, but they think going via the MP is the best route. Again, it's just one opinion, I'm not an expert in this field, I've just also been struggling with this endless wait.
Let us know if you come up with other options.

Hi, thanks to both if you

They have escalated twice over the phone, but believe me, it is useless (or it is just with me). I called again and asked them what happened about the previous escalation, and they said he can escalate again. :shock:

MP finally replied, and she said she has written to HO. I spoke to her and ask her if she can raise this issue wherever she can like in Parliament or with Ministers. She said it is not that easy, but she will do her best. I understand that country has far more important issues to deal with. :)

I am aware of the Ombudsman and have done some research. It says they can only accept complaints about UK government departments or public organisations if an MP refers them. I hope I don't have to go to that stage.

A month ago, I sent an email to my caseworker and I got a reply on today saying 'we will send your ceremony invitation very shortly'. This gave me some hope and email was not a copy-paste and caseworker made an effort to type a line. I wish in that one sentence, they would have mentioned when and if it has been dispatched.

So, overall I am getting somewhere. All this after 9 months of waiting for an Oath Ceremony Letter.

I am sorry to write and moan here, but I have no other place to get my frustration out, otherwise, I would have given up already.

Soo123
Junior Member
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2020 1:23 pm
Pakistan

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Soo123 » Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:16 am

Hi
This is for a friend who got approved today via email and from Hounslow council.

Baybars1 or anyone from Hounslow Council can please tell me what is the waiting time I can see people who got approved end of September are getting their approval letters.

Any help would be appreciated

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