Citizenship ceremony letter received but no confirmation from Homeoffice

[bigben1982]

Dear form experts,

I am so excited to see the confirmation of citizenship ceremony letter received today.Almost it took 5 months since applied online.

First of all,thanks a lot forum experts for all your invaluable support.

Now the strange thing happened is,I haven't received Homeoffice invitation letter yet but council has aleady sent me the invitation today for ceremony this week.

1. I have booked holidays to France end of August for a week.I am going to apply for Schengen Visa this Friday with my wife.So my passport will be with French embassy at least 3 weeks from this Friday.Can I rearrange the ceremony for 2nd week in September?

2.Will I be allowed to come back in September using the same ILR biometric ID and my original passport?

3.What to do just incase if I find out Homeoffice invitation letter was lost in the post?

Please kindly let me know.

[Nerazzuri]

Why not just pay the £100-£120 for a private ceremony next week, and get a British passport? If you apply for a passport in the first week of August, you’ll get it before the last week of August.

[zimba]

You should be able to delay the ceremony. Talk to the council. I never heard that councils invite you for a ceremony as you have to book it yourself. If you attend the ceremony, your ILR will be invalid. I suggest to delay your ceremony or go for a private ceremony and aim for a British passport which you should get by the end of August instead of applying for a Schengen visa

[bigben1982]

Thank you for the advice.Even if I attend a private ceremony, still I don't think I will get the British passport by end of August.

Therefore,could you please tell me,do I have the rights to postpone the ceremony up until September 2nd week?

[CR001]

Therefore,could you please tell me,do I have the rights to postpone the ceremony up until September 2nd week?

Yes!!!

[bigben1982]

Thanks a lot CR001 .

[Nerazzuri]

Thank you for the advice.Even if I attend a private ceremony, still I don't think I will get the British passport by end of August.

Therefore,could you please tell me,do I have the rights to postpone the ceremony up until September 2nd week?

You could have a look at the time lines: british-citizenship/british-passport-ap ... -6660.html

It typically takes 2 weeks or less. If you had a ceremony next week, you can expect your passport well before the end of August. However, you're always free to defer your ceremony and apply for a visa. That'll be just as pricey as a private ceremony with all the add-on costs for Schengen visas, and a visa is no quicker than just getting your passport.

[bigben1982]

Hi Forum experts,

Home office approval letter arrived last week. I decided to apply for the British passport before holidays in end of August. Ceremony will be this Thursday. Couple of questions please.

I am going to apply online straight after ceremony.

1.Countersignatory will be done by one of the referee I used to the naturalisation application. How long Homeoffice takes to contact my referee?

2.What my referee needs to do?

3.What are the documents I need to send to Homeoffice for the passport application?

4.Address to send the documents?

5.Do I have to send any documents to my referee?

[CR001]

1. The referee must be a professional on HMPO's list (not HO). It is not Home office that process passport, it is HMPO.

2. Have you looked at the paper form to see what is required??

3. The paper form comes in the envelope addressed to HMPO. The Online form will tell you what to do etc.

4. Depends how you apply.

[bigben1982]

Hi CRoo1,

Thanks a lot for your support throughout my visa applications.

I am not sure what to expect when I apply online but I will try my best.