Post
by Ffmuni » Sat Oct 27, 2018 10:47 am
Hi lizzy b
I can understand your predicament, it seems to be cutting things very fine. The Local Authority must be aware of the time constraints and the implications of a failure to carry out the ceremony by the due date and I do not think that the date offered is entirely fair. Going over the 90 days may be permissable if there is good reason (see below for quote from HO documents) but I would have certainly not wanted to try my luck with explaining to the Home Office why a ceremony was delayed- whatever the reason.
If for whatever reasons you missed the 9th Jan date (we had a major snow fall or the Council Offices burnt down in a fire!) what the procedures are and how quickly the Home Office would agree/arrange to allow a re-scheduled date is something I have no knowledge of. But if like me you were keen to ensure there was no chance of losing your German Citizenship whilst gaining UK Citizenship, the closer we get to Brexit with no deal the bigger my concerns would be. I do not know how close to the Council Offices you are, I presume it is the Registry Office, where the cermony is organised but have you tried a personal approach? You may be able to find out what Group Ceremonies are planned and how full they are and ask how often they do get cancellations; also you could check on how quickly a private ceremony can be arranged. It may be then that you can keep trying for a cancellation but have a plan to arrange a private ceremony if, by say, end of Nov you still are stuck with the 9th Jan date.
Best of luck.
"You must make immediate contact with the local authority, as you only have 90 days in which to attend the ceremony. The date by which you must attend your ceremony will be given in your Home Office citizenship ceremony invitation letter. If you do not attend the ceremony within 90 days without good reason, your application for citizenship will be refused and you will need to re-apply"