Citizenship Ceremonies - private vs public

kel · Post by **kel** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:37 pm

yesterday was one week since i booked my ceremony and i haven't rcvd any form of written confirmation. how long does it normally take for them to send you something? is this usually in the post or via email? they did ask for my email address so was wondering.

badbug27 · Post by **badbug27** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:44 pm

I went with a private as I couldn't make the first available date that was a month away. And didn't want to wait for 2 months as I needed passport to travel.

But my local council only charged £75 (should have been only £67 according to their website) for 2 adults so I was quite happy to pay this. I missed the proper ceremony but the lady who did our private ceremony was extremely nice and took pictures and made it a good occasion.

kel · Post by **kel** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:01 pm

badbug, which local authority did you pay that price? if mine was offering it so cheap i would have definitely chose private as well but didn't see it necessary to pay the £150 they were asking when i am not in a hurry really.

i am looking forward to the public ceremony though.

noble72uk · Post by **noble72uk** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 6:44 pm

kel wrote:badbug, which local authority did you pay that price? if mine was offering it so cheap i would have definitely chose private as well but didn't see it necessary to pay the £150 they were asking when i am not in a hurry really.

i am looking forward to the public ceremony though.

£150 is too much to pay as you are not in a rush, just get a public one and get your passport application ready and apply for a passport Via Post (Check & Send) office on the same day as ceremony, honestly it doesn't take a full 6 weeks for the passport.

£150 you can buy a nice Christmas presents for your family back home in December

badbug27 · Post by **badbug27** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 7:03 pm

kel wrote:badbug, which local authority did you pay that price? if mine was offering it so cheap i would have definitely chose private as well but didn't see it necessary to pay the £150 they were asking when i am not in a hurry really.

i am looking forward to the public ceremony though.

Cheshire East. But I would have gone for a public ceremony if I could've made it. The Mayor is there to give you the certificate and you probably will remember it as an occasion for your life. I didn't have much choice due to busy work life, passports expiring etc.

kel · Post by **kel** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 7:55 pm

Thanks noble, you r oh so right. That is exactly what i will be doing.

Thanks badbug

kel · Post by **kel** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 10:56 am

kel wrote:yesterday was one week since i booked my ceremony and i haven't rcvd any form of written confirmation. how long does it normally take for them to send you something? is this usually in the post or via email? they did ask for my email address so was wondering.

i called the council today and they said i should have rcvd an email at the time the booking was made. the nice lady said not to worry though as my booking is confirmed and all i need to bring with me is my invitation letter, passport and 2 guest if i wish to.

manyaonisland · Post by **manyaonisland** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 11:05 am

kel wrote:
i called the council today and they said i should have rcvd an email at the time the booking was made. the nice lady said not to worry though as my booking is confirmed and all i need to bring with me is my invitation letter, passport and 2 guest if i wish to.

Good one.. all set then!

kel · Post by **kel** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 11:39 am

yes

i am looking forward to the ceremony. won't be taking any guests though

kel · Post by **kel** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:01 am

Since one of my work colleague who was planning to take 31st october off work has cancelled his holidays for that week I will now have the entire day off so will not need to rush to get to work after the ceremony. I am looking forward to it

manyaonisland · Post by **manyaonisland** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:07 am

kel wrote:Since one of my work colleague who was planning to take 31st october off work has cancelled his holidays for that week I will now have the entire day off so will not need to rush to get to work after the ceremony. I am looking forward to it

Make the most of the day then... hopefully celebrations are on the cards

kel · Post by **kel** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:26 am

indeed! I will try and make the most of it

Jellybean123 · Post by **Jellybean123** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:47 am

My ceremony is on the 20th of November and I can not wait!

kel · Post by **kel** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:28 pm

was that the earliest date you could get or did you choose to have it that late?

mine is in 10 days

niteshj · Post by **niteshj** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:20 pm

Do you have to go to your local council if you are doing a private ceremony? Or can you just go to the cheapest one?

vinitmanu · Post by **vinitmanu** » Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:34 am

niteshj wrote:Do you have to go to your local council if you are doing a private ceremony? Or can you just go to the cheapest one?

Your local council as your Certificate will be with them.

niteshj · Post by **niteshj** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:25 pm

vinitmanu wrote:
niteshj wrote:Do you have to go to your local council if you are doing a private ceremony? Or can you just go to the cheapest one?
Your local council as your Certificate will be with them.

just to clarify on this, FORM AN allows you to nominate which council you would like to have your ceremony in - so if you find that you want a private citizenship ceremony and it is cheaper in another council besides yours then in 1.21 nominate this alternate council (e.g. we have already read in this thread that private citizenship ceremony costs can vary from 75 to 150 quid)

so in answer to my own question, yes you can go to a different council for your ceremony if it's cheaper than your own council as long as you nominate the cheaper council in the FORM AN

barnaby · Post by **barnaby** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:14 am

niteshj wrote:we have already read in this thread that private citizenship ceremony costs can vary from 75 to 150 quid

£170 in South Gloucestershire!

destiniation_london · Post by **destiniation_london** » Thu Apr 25, 2013 10:32 am

Just happen to stumble on Bradfiord citizenship page, they seem to do private ceremony for £50... not a bad choice for anyone who lives nearby and is in a rush

niteshj · Post by **niteshj** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 4:55 pm

In Islington council I think it is £120 for private on Tue - Thu, £200-300 on Friday and about £500 on saturday

that's just for a 3 minute ceremony as someone already said how long it was in islington

sojan · Post by **sojan** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 1:34 pm

Folks,
any difference in between private & public ceremony from a process perspective?
Any documents we need to take alongside private ceremony?
How long it takes for private ceremony?

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Citizenship Ceremonies - private vs public

What's the real difference b/w Private and Public Ceremony?