Naturalisation and travel before British passport

[sakura]

Here's an interesting question.

Suppose one were to apply for naturalisation, and received the acceptance letter from the BIA saying your application has been successful. So, is that the moment one is a British Citizen? Or, is it when one attends the (new) citizenship ceremonies? Well, if so, what was the case before?

Why do I ask this? Based on this thread: http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... start=1040 there seems to be a bit of a wait between the successful naturalisation application and the ceremony (and certificate of naturalisation), and I was wondering what happened between these two periods? i.e is the BIA letter an official BC documentation, or is it the certificate, and in that case if you need to prove you are now a BC, you need to wait for the ceremony?

[edit: Oops, I forgot to add more! The question was regards, initially, if one wanted to travel but using a certificate before obtaining a British passport]

[Christophe]

The person becomes a British citizen at the citizenship ceremony, not when the application is approved. (Before the introduction of the ceremonies, a person who was a citizen of a country of which the Queen is head of state became a citizen on acceptance and issuance of the certificate; citizens of other countries had to swear allegiance to the Crown in front of a solicitor.)

[sakura]

The person becomes a British citizen at the citizenship ceremony, not when the application is approved. (Before the introduction of the ceremonies, a person who was a citizen of a country of which the Queen is head of state became a citizen on acceptance and issuance of the certificate; citizens of other countries had to swear allegiance to the Crown in front of a solicitor.)

Thanks! So, it must be killer between the day of acceptance from the BIA and the actual ceremony! I assume, though, it is not intended to take so long between the two dates?

[Christophe]

Thanks! So, it must be killer between the day of acceptance from the BIA and the actual ceremony! I assume, though, it is not intended to take so long between the two dates?

Well, yes, ideally the two dates would be very close together. I don't know what is considered to be an "acceptable" time interval, but someone here might. During that interval, of course, the person is still able to travel abroad using the passport already held (if any, of course).

[sakura]

Thanks! So, it must be killer between the day of acceptance from the BIA and the actual ceremony! I assume, though, it is not intended to take so long between the two dates?

Well, yes, ideally the two dates would be very close together. I don't know what is considered to be an "acceptable" time interval, but someone here might. During that interval, of course, the person is still able to travel abroad using the passport already held (if any, of course).

Yea, but if you are a visa national, it'll still mean arranging a visa! Well, obviously most people would just wait that month, but it's still a curious position to be in.

[Christophe]

Further to my post above, the following is from a page from the BIA website about citizenship ceremonies:

Following despatch of the invitation a person is given 90 days within which to attend a citizenship ceremony. Contact details for the relevant local authority, which will make the necessary arrangements, will be included in the invitation letter. Citizenship ceremonies usually take place at the register office, although for larger events a Town Hall or other municipal building may be used. Normally, a group ceremony will be arranged for everyone in the local area who is becoming a British citizen at that time, and each new citizen will be able to bring two guests. Attendance at a ceremony is by invitation only.

However, some new citizens may wish to arrange a private citizenship ceremony, so that more guests can attend or for other reasons, and arrangements for this can be discussed with the local authority.

So I guess that 90 days is the acceptable maximum time interval (more likely to be as long as that in local government areas where there are few new British citizens, of course). How much it would cost to organise a private ceremony, and which councils would entertain the idea, is a different question altogether...

[Christophe]

Yea, but if you are a visa national, it'll still mean arranging a visa! Well, obviously most people would just wait that month, but it's still a curious position to be in.

That's true, of course. But there would be some people who could not or would not wait (e.g. business travellers; people with circumscribed holiday dates, such as teachers; people who have, say, family emergencies to attend to; and so on).

[sakura]

Further to my post above, the following is from a page from the BIA website about citizenship ceremonies:

Following despatch of the invitation a person is given 90 days within which to attend a citizenship ceremony. Contact details for the relevant local authority, which will make the necessary arrangements, will be included in the invitation letter. Citizenship ceremonies usually take place at the register office, although for larger events a Town Hall or other municipal building may be used. Normally, a group ceremony will be arranged for everyone in the local area who is becoming a British citizen at that time, and each new citizen will be able to bring two guests. Attendance at a ceremony is by invitation only.

However, some new citizens may wish to arrange a private citizenship ceremony, so that more guests can attend or for other reasons, and arrangements for this can be discussed with the local authority.

So I guess that 90 days is the acceptable maximum time interval (more likely to be as long as that in local government areas where there are few new British citizens, of course). How much it would cost to organise a private ceremony, and which councils would entertain the idea, is a different question altogether...

Cool, thanks for the link!
Well, you know, some people would love a private party! If a whole family is naturalising....some people might well consider it. How much it'll cost - maybe they'd be so happy they wouldn't even care!