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Just for approval letter which is dated 3rd Sept and received on 5th Sept but not received invitation letter will this come separate?

How long normally take to arrive since local council is not booking for ceremony untill I get invitation letter is this right?

Yes it comes separately.

It can take a couple of weeks.

Do I have to definitely wait for the letter from the council?
I checked the Cambridgeshire council website and they do have a number for bookings...

I just want to get this done as soon as possible - I have no idea what the wait list for Cambs is like.

I received my approval letter on 07/09/18, dated 31/08/18.

Forgetting the abysmal English and lack of any signature, it said I should contact the Ceremonies Officer within 21days of the date of the letter to arrange a ceremony and that it would take up to two days for the information from the Home Office to reach the Ceremonies Officer.

As 7 days had passed from the date of the letter, I contacted the Registrar’s office direct. The lady I spoke to first checked they had the paperwork from the HO, which they had, then said their next ceremony was on 18/10/18. I explained I was not available on that date and could I arrange a private ceremony. Upshot is I will have a ceremony next Wednesday, 5 days after receipt of approval letter.

So depending on the Council/Registrar my advice (on my experience) would be to give them a call and make an arrangement.

You can contact them but if they have't got the info from the HO, you'll still have to wait until they have. It really is best to do it by the book i.e. wait for the letter from the HO. Once that arrives you then contact the place you asked for. It seems there is a time limit to attend as I was told my wife's ceremony had to be done by X date in October. But this is part of the checking process. Might differ but our local office seem to hold them once every month i.e. she missed August and was offered the next date in September.

actually my letter from the HO (letting me know my application was successfully) explicitly says NOT to contact the council unthey they send me a letter.

Hi jmmo20.

That's strange.

My letter from the Home Office says at para two

"What you must do now
1. The ceremony will be arranged by the Local Authority whose details are shown below. Please contact the authority using these details within 21 days of the date of this letter to book your ceremony. Please note that documentation may take up to 2 working days to arrive"

As my letter was seven days old when I got it I immediately contacted the Local Authority. So it would seem that different wording may be used in the HO letters depending on which Local Authority you will be using.

Of course you should contact the Council. Since when has it been a good idea to trust petty bureaucracy?

Ffmuni wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:51 am

Hi jmmo20.

That's strange.

My letter from the Home Office says at para two

"What you must do now
1. The ceremony will be arranged by the Local Authority whose details are shown below. Please contact the authority using these details within 21 days of the date of this letter to book your ceremony. Please note that documentation may take up to 2 working days to arrive"

As my letter was seven days old when I got it I immediately contacted the Local Authority. So it would seem that different wording may be used in the HO letters depending on which Local Authority you will be using.

There are two types of letters. One like you got which is the combined approval and ceremony letter and the other is where the applicant only gets the approval letter and must wait for the ceremony invitation letter.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 10, 2018 8:14 pm

There are two types of letters. One like you got which is the combined approval and ceremony letter and the other is where the applicant only gets the approval letter and must wait for the ceremony invitation letter.

Is it possible to predict what type of a letter an applicant is going to get? Does it depend on your council or what?

epi wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 10, 2018 9:21 pm

CR001 wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 10, 2018 8:14 pm

There are two types of letters. One like you got which is the combined approval and ceremony letter and the other is where the applicant only gets the approval letter and must wait for the ceremony invitation letter.

Is it possible to predict what type of a letter an applicant is going to get? Does it depend on your council or what?

No it is not possible to predict. Not sure what the reasoning is behind the different letters.

it must be up to the council. I was checking the council of the city I used to live before and they have quite a nice range of online systems including booking ceremonies.

my current council does nothing online... NOTHING.

Probably that's the reason they can't arrange combined "approval and ceremony letters