HO approval letter but no invitation for ceremony yet!

[Benji_182]

Evening Everybody!

How long does it take for invitation latter to arrive after you got your paperwork back long with approval letter from HO?

I got back paperwork and approval letter with delivery date of 28/06/2016 (picked up on 1/09/2016 due to missed delivery from the local post office depot)

Im still yet to receive invitation latter for ceremony - we have now 3 sept. anyone knows typical timescales or can share normally how long does it take?

Some people post on timelines that they booked ceremony just few days after getting approval letter? How is that possible?


Also some people state that their approval letter says they should contact local authority to book ceremony within 21 days but mine says I should not contact local authority until I get invitation letter? Mixed bag! GOV website says I should also contact local council in regards to ceremony. Im confused due to mixed information from various sources...on GOV forums and actual guide.


Can someone shed some light on this and whats the way forward please??

Thank you so much in advance!!

Regards,

B.

[mkh05r]

Did the approval letter require a signature upon delivery ? I thought these are sent 2nd class post.

[Benji_182]

Did the approval letter require a signature upon delivery ? I thought these are sent 2nd class post.

Yes. I submitted pre paid special delivery for return of my paperwork. They did send both my paperwork id etc and approval letter:

Stating that I should wait for invitation letter and do not contact local authority. Its been a while

[noajthan]

Contact council asap, certainly within 3 months of that HO approval letter.
Something is obviously amiss so follow up and sort it out.

[Noetic]

I suspect it depends on the local authority. My HO letter said to contact the authority directly to book a ceremony, apparently Kirklees don't send out invites until you ring to confirm.

[Benji_182]

Hi again

Thanks for your replies guys!

I was thinking about contacting them but latter states that i should wait for the letter. I have done some digging and in a lot of cases they just book a ceremony without the invitation letter. I guess response varies from council to council but i think i should just give them a call.

Correct me if I'm wrong but invitation letter normally comes from local authority anyways (council) and HO just send the certificate to them?

Thank you!

[cs95tdg]

I was thinking about contacting them but latter states that i should wait for the letter. I have done some digging and in a lot of cases they just book a ceremony without the invitation letter. I guess response varies from council to council but i think i should just give them a call.

Correct me if I'm wrong but invitation letter normally comes from local authority anyways (council) and HO just send the certificate to them?

The HO send your certificate to your local council at around the same time as they send the applicant the approval letter. Depending on the council, you will either be asked to call them to book a ceremony date, or will be asked to wait for the invitation letter from your council (In the latter case, they directly book the ceremony date for you, once they receive the certificate from the HO).

In my case, the HO approval letter, requested that I call my council to book the ceremony date within 21 days. No specific invitation letter was sent by the council, other than confirmation of the date I booked along with directions to council location. All I required on the day of the ceremony was the HO approval letter (which in effect was a combined approval & invitation letter) and a Photo ID.

Given the amount of time that has elapsed since you received your HO letter, it's highly likely that something has gone amiss, perhaps council invitation letter lost in the post. You should definitely call the council to find out what has happened, as you are required to attend the ceremony within 3 months of approval (unless I'm mistaken).