What is my immigration status if I leave UK for 2 and 1/2 months without obtaining the Certificate of Naturalisation

[nervous123]

Hi,

The Home Office sent me a letter which was dated 4 March 2020 and in it it says that I have to book the citizenship ceremony within 21 days from the date of the letter. I contacted my council for several times but they don't have any details of me because they have not received the relevant documents from the Home Office. Thus, up till now, I cannot book the citizenship ceremony and am therefore not able to obtain my certificate of naturalisation as a British citizen.

Due to some urgent matter, I need to leave UK for around 2 and 1/2 months. My questions are:
1) What is my immigration status if I leave UK for 2 and 1/2 months, am I still indefinite leave to remain or British citizen without the certificate of naturalisation which makes me unable to get a UK passport after coming back 2 and 1/2 months later? Do I need to reapply for naturalisation as British citizen again after I come back which means I have to fulfill the residency requirement again? Please advise.

2)Also, please advise how I can get the citizenship ceremony done asap so that I can apply for a UK passport now as I don’t want to waste all the 6 years waiting to be approved as a British citizen?

I am extremely worried now and thank you very much for your assistance and advice in advance.

[pseudonymmed]

Citizenship ceremonies going forward have all been cancelled due to coronavirus measures. Councils are waiting on further information from the Home Office on what next steps are. So I don't think you can book a ceremony currently anyways. We'll have to see what happens - considering that it is possible to extend the 3 months for booking the ceremony if you can prove serious circumstances prevented you, I'm hoping that this means the HO will be extending that for anyone caught out by the virus.

You are not a British citizen until the ceremony so are still under ILR until you're officially British. So technically you can come and go as ILR.

[nervous123]

Hi Pseudonymmed,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply.

Does it mean that I can come back as ILR but have to reapply for naturalisation as a British citizen again after I come back? Once again thank you very much for your kind assistance because I am very very worried indeed.

[Djsuccess]

Hi Pseudonymmed,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply.

Does it mean that I can come back as ILR but have to reapply for naturalisation as a British citizen again after I come back? Once again thank you very much for your kind assistance because I am very very worried indeed.

Given the current global issue of Covid-19, it is not your fault that the council has not received your certificate from the Home Office, which meant that you could not book the ceremony. Many councils have been contacting people about ceremony cancellation (some until further notice, one particular council till June. Therefore, if ceremonies have been cancelled by the order of the Home Office, then I will expect the Home Office to grant an extension for people affected. If you are travelling make sure you have someone at your address to look out for letters from the HO or the council. You should also check the UK news for updates on Coronavirus and measures in place. You can continue to communicate with the council (phone or email) from abroad. In your case, I don't expect you to reapply when you come back. You just need to book and attend the ceremony when you come back.
However, given that the government has advised against all but necessary travels, you might need to prove that travelling out of the UK at this time is necessary. And never know when you will be able to return to the UK, if the lockdown is in place in many countries.
And to answer your other question, you are not a citizen until you have attended the ceremony and obtained your certificate.

[gofornaturalisation]

Hi nervous123,

I'm in a similar boat (stuck in Australia until I'm not), except that I haven't yet received my confirmation letter approving my application. One option I'm hoping to be able to use (and having spoken to the HO 3 times yesterday I got 3 slightly different answers) is requesting to take the oath at the nearest embassy in Australia. You may want to call or email the HO requesting to do this, given the situation with the virus, and hope that it falls on a sympathetic ear or lap. That way, you could take the oath wherever you are and return to the UK a British citizen!

I know it's definitely an option on the website (www.gov.uk/citizenship-ceremonies):

If you’re not living in the UK
You can ask the embassy or consulate in the country where you’re living if you can have the ceremony there.

If you’re only abroad for a short time, you might be asked to postpone the ceremony until you return to the UK. You must still book your ceremony within 3 months of getting an invitation.

You might have to prove you’re planning to live in the UK permanently if you’re going to be abroad for more than a few months.

However, in practice, I'm not sure how likely they are to allow this. Perhaps someone can illuminate us on this. One of the HO people I spoke to yesterday suggested I email the HO before I receive the confirmation letter to avoid administrative issues (no relevant for you), another said to wait until after I receive confirmation (your situation) and the 3rd didn't quite understand the question and thought I was asking whether it would impact the success of the application itself.

So that's another idea for you, I'll certainly be trying this if I'm lucky enough to get a confirmation letter sometime soon.

Good luck.